NASA shifts Crew-10 launch to March 12 to provide relief for Crew-9 astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been on the International Space Station for nearly ten months due to thruster malfunctions on the Starliner spacecraft.
NASA has made a strategic decision to expedite the launch of its Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Originally slated for late March, the agency has now targeted March 12th for the launch, marking a significant shift in plans. This accelerated timeline is aimed at providing much-needed relief to the Crew-9 astronauts currently onboard the ISS.
Two members of Crew-9, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, have been enduring an extended stay on the ISS, far exceeding their initial 10-day mission duration. Their prolonged presence stemmed from thruster malfunctions experienced during Boeing's Starliner spacecraft's crewed flight test (CFT) in June 2022. These issues forced NASA to extend their stay while a thorough investigation was conducted. In August, NASA opted to return the Starliner uncrewed due to unresolved complications, necessitating a change in mission plans for the Starliner astronauts. This resulted in the Crew-9 Dragon, initially scheduled to arrive shortly after Starliner's departure, experiencing a manifest alteration. The mission ultimately consisted of only two astronauts, leaving two open seats for Williams and Wilmore to return to Earth aboard the Crew-9 Dragon. However, the delay in Crew-10's launch caused uncertainty about their return date, with media coverage often mischaracterizing their situation as 'stranded astronauts.'Amidst this, former President Trump, in a bid to capitalize on the situation, directed SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to 'go get' the two astronauts, claiming they had been 'virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration.' Musk's role as SpaceX CEO would have made him aware that both SpaceX's Crew-9 Dragon and Russia's Soyuz spacecraft were readily available as lifeboats for the entire station crew in case of an emergency. He was also cognizant of NASA's plans for the safe return of the astronauts. Still, he publicly stated that NASA and SpaceX were 'expeditiously working to safely return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts...as soon as practical, while also preparing for the launch of Crew-10 to complete a handover between expeditions.'To expedite Crew-10's launch, NASA opted to utilize a flight-proven Crew Dragon spacecraft, Endurance, rather than waiting for a new Dragon capsule to be manufactured. Endurance has a proven track record, having previously flown SpaceX's Crew-3, Crew-5, and Crew-7 missions. NASA believes readying Endurance for flight will be significantly quicker than completing the new Dragon. Before the targeted March 12th launch, Endurance will undergo refurbishment, trunk stacking, propellant loading, and transportation to SpaceX's Launch Complex-39A hangar at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for booster integration
NASA Crew-10 International Space Station Spacex Astronauts Starliner Crew-9 Williams Wilmore Launch Delay
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