The rescue mission for the astronauts who got stuck in space is almost ready to bring them back to Earth. Here’s how this incredible operation unfolded.
The Starliner’s Mission: What Went Wrong?
The Crew-9 mission recently arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday night, at precisely 11:32 PM (Spanish time). The spacecraft carried just two astronauts and launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Originally, this mission was supposed to be a routine trip, with four astronauts on board heading to the ISS. But things didn’t go as planned.
A previous mission with two astronauts aboard ran into technical issues, leaving the crew stranded on the ISS for much longer than anyone expected. This meant they needed a rescue.
Enter SpaceX’s Dragon: The Rescue Ship
NASA decided to send a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the ISS as part of the rescue plan. That Dragon just arrived and is now preparing to bring the stranded astronauts back home.
The astronauts in question are Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were part of the inaugural Starliner mission. Initially, they were only supposed to be in space for 8 days, but because of the Starliner’s problems, their stay was extended far beyond what they had planned.
Now, Suni and Butch will join the Crew-9 team. This is SpaceX’s ninth mission for NASA since 2020, designed to swap out the ISS crew members.
Tension Between NASA and Boeing
The Starliner failure shook up NASA’s plans for its usual Crew missions. Typically, these missions last for six months and involve four astronauts. But with the Starliner out of the picture, Suni and Butch were stuck on the ISS longer than expected, escalating tensions between NASA and Boeing—the company behind the Starliner spacecraft.
NASA had to make some quick adjustments. To fit everyone in the Dragon capsule, two astronauts had to be left behind on Earth. The Crew-9 mission, originally meant to last six months, was cut down to five to allow Suni and Butch to return home by February 2025.
A Shake-Up for Crew-9
When the Dragon capsule reached the ISS, it only had room for two astronauts: Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbunov. This meant two of the original Crew-9 members—Commander Zena Cardman and Mission Specialist Stephanie Williams—had to stay behind on Earth. They’ll have to wait for another chance to head into space.
Zena and Stephanie gave up their spots so that Suni and Butch could get home safely. Both of these astronauts had already spent significant time in orbit on past missions, so stepping aside this time wasn’t as much of a surprise.
What’s Next?
Now, Suni and Butch are working hard on research and maintenance aboard the ISS. If all goes as planned, they’ll be home by February 2025.
But with space missions, you never know what might happen next. No more setbacks are expected, but everyone is holding their breath until these two astronauts finally touch down on Earth.