Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore likely to return earlier, NASA reveals dates
PTC News Desk: US space agency NASA AND SpaceX are accelerating the process to facilitate early return of two Starliner astronauts who have been on the station far longer than expected.
The U.S. space agency said mission management teams opted to use a previously flown SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule for its Crew-10 mission to the space station, instead of a new SpaceX capsule whose production it said has been delayed. The decision will allow the space agency to prepone the return schedule and moving the dates up to March 12 from the previous target of March 25.
The return of astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who traveled to the International Space Station aboard Boeing's faulty Starliner capsule last summer, depends on the arrival of Crew-10's four-person team to maintain the station’s American crew at its usual capacity.
This decision comes after President Donald Trump's sudden request to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk last month to bring Wilmore and Williams back to Earth "as soon as possible," urging the early end of their mission, which had mostly been planned for the previous year.
After Trump's demand, Nasa affirmed its plan to bring home the astronauts, saying it would do so "as soon as practical." In its statement on Tuesday, the agency did not say its decision to change the Crew-10 capsule was made to bring the Starliner crew home early.
- PTC NEWS
