Hyderabad: Following a series of delays, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is finally getting ready to bring back astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station (ISS)-- a little earlier than previously planned. The space agency is now eyeing the March 12 launch for the Crew-10 rotation mission. The two stranded astronauts will return to Earth together with Crew-9 members following a several-day handover period.
Crew-10 rotation mission
NASA and Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) have accelerated the target launch and return dates for the upcoming crew rotation missions to and from the ISS. The Crew-10 launch, now targeting March 12, is pending mission readiness and completion of the agency’s certification of flight readiness process, NASA said in a blog post.
The Crew-10 mission will carry NASA astronauts Anne McClain (commander) and Nichole Ayers (pilot), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi (mission specialist), and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov (mission specialist) to the space station.
NASA and SpaceX are accelerating the target launch and return dates for the upcoming crew rotation missions to and from @Space_Station.#Crew10 launch now is targeted for March 12, pending mission readiness and completion of flight readiness: https://t.co/MhBNJCL80F pic.twitter.com/ZZs9NltVI5
— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) February 11, 2025
After Crew-10 arrives at the space station, Crew-9 will help the newly arrived crew familiarise with ongoing science and station maintenance work, which supports a safer transition of operations aboard the orbital complex, the space agency explained.
Following the handover, NASA and SpaceX will prepare to return to Earth with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The return timing will depend on weather conditions at the splashdown sites off the coast of Florida.
The early opportunity for Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore
The Crew-10 mission management decided to use a previously flown Dragon spacecraft, called Endurance, for the Crew-10 mission, instead of using a new Dragon spacecraft that would have required additional processing time. This decision saved time and allowed for an early launch opportunity for the crew rotation mission launch.
Mission teams are currently working to complete assessments of the spacecraft’s previously flown hardware to ensure it meets the agency’s Commercial Crew Program safety and certification requirements, NASA said. teams will also work to complete refurbishment and ready the spacecraft for flight, which includes trunk stack, propellant load, and transportation to SpaceX’s hangar at 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to be mated with the mission’s Falcon 9 rocket.
The early return window for the two astronauts comes after US President Donald Trump asked SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to facilitate the return of both Williams and Wilmore as soon as possible. Notably, NASA had already roped in SpaceX months ago to return both astronauts together with Crew-9 members.
Musk claimed that it was "terrible" that the pair were left "stranded" at the ISS for so long, even though NASA had already roped in SpaceX months ago to return both astronauts as part of its Crew-9 mission. Williams and Wilmore have been stuck in space since June 2023 due to technical problems with Boeing's Starliner which took them to the ISS.
