Two astronauts who have been stuck on the International Space Station since June welcomed the SpaceX capsule that will take them back to Earth on Sunday.
SpaceX launched the rescue mission Saturday with a core crew of two astronauts and two empty seats reserved for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who will return next year. The Dragon capsule docked in darkness as both spacecraft orbited 426 kilometers (265 miles) above Botswana.
NASA decided to return Wilmore and Williams to Earth aboard SpaceX due to concerns about the safety of the Boeing Starliner capsule. It was Starliner’s first manned flight, and the space agency decided that engine failures and helium leaks that occurred after takeoff were too severe and their cause was not sufficiently understood to put pilots at risk. So the Starliner came back empty a few weeks ago.
The Dragon, carrying NASA’s Nick Hague and the Russian Space Agency’s Alexander Gorbunov, will remain on the space station until February, turning Wilmore and Williams’ week-long journey into an epic eight-month mission.
Two NASA astronauts were removed from the mission to make room for Wilmore and Williams on the return trip.
NASA typically changes its station crew approximately every six months. SpaceX has been providing shuttle services since the company’s first crewed flight in 2020. NASA also awarded a contract to Boeing for shuttle flights following the retirement of the space shuttle, but faulty software and other problems with the Starliner led to years of delays and costly repairs. 1 billion dollars.
Starliner is already undergoing testing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, with post-flight data analysis scheduled to begin this week.
“We’re a long way from saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to rule Boeing out,'” NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Free said at a pre-launch briefing.
The arrival of two new astronauts means the four who have been there since March will be able to return to Earth in their own SpaceX capsule in just a week. Their stay was extended by a month due to problems with the Starliner.
While Saturday’s liftoff went off without a hitch, SpaceX said the rocket’s jettisoned upper stage ended up outside its planned impact zone in the Pacific Ocean due to an engine misfire. The company has suspended all Falcon launches until it can figure out what went wrong.
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