- Astronauts will arrive on Earth in February 2025
NASA has scheduled the launch of the Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station on September 26, by SpaceX in a Dragon capsule. The mission will be responsible for rescuing the two American astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, stranded since June 2024 after failures in the propulsion systems of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
In a post on NASA’s website, it details that the space launch will take place from Space Launch Complex-40, at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This would be the first time that a manned space flight has been carried out from the platform.
NASA astronaut and mission commander Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, a Crew-9 specialist, will be on the flight.
Initially, four astronauts were to travel on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft on this mission. Now, only two crew members will be sent aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to make room for the two astronauts who are stranded in space.
The mission is scheduled to return in February 2025, so Wilmore and Williams will have to wait until then to return to Earth.
The case of the American astronauts stranded in space
On June 5, astronauts Wilmore and Williams blasted off into space aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule, a competitor to SpaceX. The trip was supposed to last eight days, but has now been on for more than three months due to problems with the spacecraft.
The goal of this flight was to prove that, after more than 10 years of design and development, and two previous unmanned flights, Starliner was capable of carrying two astronauts to the International Space Station and returning them safely to Earth. But it didn’t happen.
In August, after several tests, NASA determined that conditions were not suitable for astronauts to safely return in the Boeing capsule.
On September 6, the agency announced that the Starliner spacecraft would return to Earth unmanned, while Wilmore and Williams would return to Earth in SpaceX’s Dragon capsule.
How astronauts stranded in space live
Wilmore and Williams are on the International Space Station, which can accommodate up to seven astronauts. There are compartments, like bedrooms, equipped with laptop computers so the crew can stay in touch with family members, as well as space to store personal items.
According to a video posted by NASA on social media, both astronauts spend part of their days conducting scientific experiments.
Even though the International Space Station has supplies such as clothing and food for crews who stay in shelters there, NASA keeps four months of supplies on board. In addition, the station constantly receives merchandise sent via spacecraft.
In terms of health, astronauts Wilmore and Williams have the necessary equipment to perform cardiovascular and strength exercises to stay fit.
Astronauts will vote from space
Astronauts Wilmore and Williams will be able to vote in the US presidential election on 5 November by space mail, a right that American astronauts have, authorized by a law enacted in the state of Texas in 1997, and which has been exercised on several occasions.
Votes cast from space will be transmitted to Earth via NASA’s Near Space Network, a communications service on the International Space Station that allows spacecraft to exchange critical data with mission operators on Earth.
Votes cast by astronauts will be delivered via a secure electronic link to the Clerk County, Texas, office of NASA’s Johnson Space Flight Center.
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2024-09-24 11:44:24
