NASA has pushed back the launch of the next astronaut crew to the International Space Station, stranding four current crew members, including astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been aboard for over nine months due to spacecraft issues.
The two NASA astronauts who have been stuck on the International Space Station since their Boeing spacecraft ran into problems in June will have to remain there even longer, the agency announced Tuesday. NASA has pushed back the next astronaut crew’s launch to the ISS from February to no earlier than late March to allow more time to “complete processing” on a new SpaceX spacecraft that will be used for the mission.
Four crew members aboard the station must wait for the arrival of the next crew before they can depart on a separate SpaceX Dragon capsule. They include NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who launched on the challenge-plagued first test flight of Boeing’s Starliner vehicle. The two originally intended to spend about a week at the space station but will wind up having lived and worked in orbit for more than nine months, including the added time for the latest delay. New crews typically overlap with departing crews for a short time at the ISS in what’s known as a handover period, during which astronauts can exchange information about ongoing science experiments, maintenance projects and other protocols. When Williams and Wilmore do finally leave after that handover, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will fly home with them. Officials said the new Dragon capsule expected to launch in late March should arrive at NASA’s processing facility in Florida in early January. “Fabrication, assembly, testing, and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavor that requires great attention to detail,” Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, said in a statement. When the capsule launches — a mission known as Crew-10 — it is expected to carry NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi. Until then, the foursome will continue training for their mission at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, NASA said
NASA International Space Station Astronauts Spacecraft Launch Delay
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The International Space Station adjusts its orbit to avoid space debrisThere are at least 19,000 pieces of space debris in Earth's orbit, not including active satellites, that the U.S is monitoring.
Read more »
The International Space Station adjusts its orbit to avoid space debrisThere are at least 19,000 pieces of space debris in Earth's orbit, not including active satellites, that the U.S is monitoring.
Read more »
International Space Station dodges 2nd piece of space junk in 6 daysMichael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, 'Out There,' was published on Nov. 13, 2018.
Read more »
NASA Sees Progress on Starlab Commercial Space Station DevelopmentA NASA-funded commercial space station, Starlab, recently completed four key developmental milestones, marking substantial progress in the station’s design
Read more »
NASA Sets Coverage for Roscosmos Spacewalk 63 Outside Space StationNASA will provide live coverage as two Roscosmos cosmonauts conduct a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station on Thursday, Dec. 19.
Read more »
NASA to Provide Coverage of Progress 90 Launch, Space Station DockingNASA will provide live launch and docking coverage of a Roscosmos cargo spacecraft delivering nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the Expedition
Read more »