NASA's Desperate Rescue Mission: Crew Cut From SpaceX Flight To Make Room For Two Marooned Astronauts
NASA confirmed the two astronauts stuck at the ISS will return home in February 2025.
Sept. 4 2024, Published 8:00 p.m. ET
The SpaceX flight crew has been slashed in half to make room for two NASA astronauts stranded in space.
NASA confirmed the upcoming flight has been downsized in order to bring Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Wilmore and Williams were supposed to return home after an eight-day mission, but have been stuck at the International Space Station for months after their Boeing Starliner capsule experienced helium leaks and mechanical issues.
Wilmore and Williams were only expected to be in space for days before their Boeing Starliner capsule experienced helium leaks and thruster issues.
NASA's Nick Hague and Russian Aleksandr Gorbunov will now man the SpaceX craft scheduled to launch this month. Astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson were bumped from the flight, but the agency said they can fly on future missions.
Spaceflight experience and other factors were said to be involved in deciding who to cut from the mission.
While Wilmore and Williams now have seats on aboard the SpaceX craft, they'll have to wait until February 2025, when the upcoming mission is expected to be completed, for their return flight home.
NASA confirmed the crew for the upcoming SpaceX launch has been downsized to make room for Williams and Wilmore's return.
SpaceX's Crew-9 is set to launch on September 24 for its six-month mission, though the start date could be delayed after the FAA grounded the company's Falcon 9 to investigate the cause of a fiery landing during a successful satellite launch in late August.
Nonetheless, with the revision of Crew-9 comes a long-awaited answer for the two astronauts, who have been left in limbo aboard the ISS since June.
The stranded astronauts were the first crew to man Boeing's capsule. After the craft experienced helium leaks and thruster issues, NASA decided it was too risky for the astronauts to return home in the Starliner.
Boeing's Starliner will now return empty. The agency is aiming to land the craft in the New Mexico desert as early as September 6.
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The SpaceX launched is scheduled for September 24.
While aboard the ISS, Wilmore and Williams have been kept busy with plenty of work. The agency additionally confirmed there's plenty of supplies for the astronauts, who are not in immediate danger.
Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino said the pair's military background and experience in space has prepared them to be adaptable and resilient, according to USA Today.
Massimino added: "Now they know what the new plan is, I think they're probably both embracing it as best they can.
"In their career as military aviators, they've had plans change and know how to be flexible."
NASA said the astronauts have been busy conducting experiments and working on routine maintenance at the ISS.
As they wait for Crew-9 to arrive, Wilmore and Williams are said to be working on routine maintenance tasks and conducting science experiments.
So far, they've conducted research on fluid physics, robotic operations, plant facility maintenance and observations of earth. Their work aims to discover ways of overcoming a lack of gravity to water plants.
NASA said: "Providing adequate water and nutrition to plants grown in space is critical as missions expand in low Earth orbit and beyond to the Moon and eventually Mars."
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