NASA announces date for return of astronauts Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams
There’s good news for two US astronauts stuck in space since June last year with NASA announcing a date for their return.
Two American astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) will now arrive home a few weeks sooner than planned as NASA and SpaceX reshuffle their spacecraft.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at the ISS in June last year aboard Boeing’s Starliner, and were due to spend only eight days on the orbiting laboratory.
However, a series of technical complications have left the pair stranded for more than eight months.
The US space agency announced in August last year that Boeing rival SpaceX would bring the crew home in February 2025, before their return was further postponed to late March due to SpaceX preparing a new spacecraft.
The mission is now scheduled to launch on March 12 “pending mission readiness”, NASA announced, explaining that the change was agreed with SpaceX after adjustments were made to the original plan.
Instead of using a brand new Dragon spacecraft that requires extra processing time, the Crew-10 mission will now use a previously flown one called Endurance.
The astronauts will return to Earth following a handover period of several days, the agency added.
“It was a little bit of a shock actually,” Ms Williams told the students.
“We knew that it would be probably a month or so, honestly. But the extended stay was just a little bit different.”
The announcement comes after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump sowed confusion about the Starliner astronauts’ situation and attempted to claim credit for their return on a SpaceX capsule — a plan that had been in place for months.
“Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without specifying when the mission would take place.
Musk, who heavily funded Mr Trump’s election campaign, wrote last month on X that the president had asked SpaceX to bring home the two astronauts “as soon as possible.”
SpaceX, the private company founded by billionaire Musk, has been flying regular missions every six months to allow the rotation of ISS crews.
NASA, however, has long said the crew isn’t “stranded” and a plan to return them safely to Earth has been in place for months.
“NASA and SpaceX are expeditiously working to safely return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore as soon as practical, while also preparing for the launch of Crew-10 to complete a handover between expeditions,” NASA spokeswoman Cheryl Warner said.
The astronauts recently opened up about the challenges of being in space for so long – including having increasing difficulty remembering what it feels like to walk.
In a call with students at Needham High School, Massachusetts, Ms Williams said she was struggling to remember what it feels like to walk and lie down, The New York Post reported.
“I’ve been up here long enough right now I’ve been trying to remember what it’s like to walk,” the Massachusetts native told students at her alma mater.
“I haven’t walked. I haven’t sat down. I haven’t laid down. You don’t have to. You can just close your eyes and float where you are right here.”
While their protracted stay is notable, it has not yet surpassed Frank Rubio’s record-breaking 371 days aboard the ISS, which he completed in 2023 after the Russian spacecraft designated for his return developed a coolant leak.
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Originally published as NASA announces date for return of astronauts Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams