Washington, D.C.: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for the past eight months, are finally set to return to Earth next month. Their extended stay, which resulted from delays in their originally planned return mission, is expected to end with the launch of the Crew-10 mission on March 12, followed by their return a week later on March 19.
Crew-10 Mission and Return Plan
The Crew-10 mission will carry four astronauts to the ISS: Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers from NASA, Takuya Onishi from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and Kirill Peskov from Roscosmos. Their six-month mission will begin upon arrival, during which a week-long handover process will take place, transferring command responsibilities on the space station.
Currently, Sunita Williams serves as the ISS commander and will oversee the transition before departing. After the handover, Williams and Wilmore will board the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which will undock from the ISS and bring them back to Earth on March 19.
Speaking to CNN, Wilmore confirmed the plan, stating, "The plan is that Crew-10 will launch on March 12, do a turnover for a week, and we will return on March 19."
Why Were They Stranded?
Williams and Wilmore originally traveled to the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5 last year. However, their return was delayed due to technical issues with the spacecraft. The unexpected extension led to growing concerns over their prolonged stay aboard the ISS.
Political Response and SpaceX Involvement
The delay in their return also drew political attention. Former U.S. President Donald Trump urged SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to facilitate their return, posting on his social media platform Truth Social:
"I have just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to 'go get' the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration. They have been waiting for many months on the space station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck, Elon!!!"
SpaceX, which developed the Crew Dragon capsule with nearly $3 billion in NASA funding, has played a key role in ensuring the safe return of astronauts from the ISS.
NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager, Steve Stich, emphasized the challenges of human spaceflight, stating, "Our operational flexibility is enabled by the tremendous partnership between NASA and SpaceX, and the agility SpaceX continues to demonstrate to safely meet the agency’s emerging needs."
With the Crew-10 mission now scheduled, the return of Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore is expected to mark the resolution of their unexpectedly extended space mission.
