Two NASA’s alternatives to two stuck astronauts were launched to the International Space Station Friday night, paving the way for the couple’s return nine months later.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams need SpaceX to bring this relief team to the space station before checking out. Arrival is scheduled for late Saturday night.
NASA wants to overlap between the two crew members so that Wilmore and Williams can fill new immigrants on the Orbiting Lab. This will allow them to evacuate next week and splash off the Florida coast if weather permits.
The duo will be accompanied by astronauts who flew on SpaceX last September on a rescue mission and were reserved for Wilmore and Williams along with two empty seats, and on back legs.
Arriving in orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the latest crew members include NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, both military pilots. Takuya Onishi of Japan and Kirill Peskov of Russia are both former airline pilots. They will spend the next six months on the space station after bounced Wilmore and Williams Free.
“Space flight is tough, but humans are even harder,” McLean said for a few minutes in the flight.
The two astronauts had only one week
As test pilots for Boeing’s new Starliner capsules, Wilmore and Williams are expected to launch from Cape Canaveral for about a week on June 5. A series of helium leaks and thruster failures damaged their trip to the space station, incorporated into NASA’s months of investigations, conducted months of investigations, and worked on the best of the process.
NASA finally ruled unsafe, ordering Starliner to fly back empty last September and move Wilmore and Williams to SpaceX flights in February. Their rewards were further delayed when SpaceX’s brand new capsules required a lot of battery repairs. To save weeks, SpaceX switched to second-hand capsules, moving Willmore and Williams’ homeland to mid-March.
A political change in mission
When U.S. President Donald Trump and SpaceX’s Elon Musk vowed earlier this year to accelerate the return of astronauts and accused the former administration of delaying the decline, they had already attracted the attention of the world, and their unexpectedly long mission took a political twist.
Retired Navy Captains, who used to live at the space station, have repeatedly stressed that they have supported the decision of their NASA boss since last summer. Both help keep the station running – repairing damaged toilets, watering plants and performing experiments – even walking together on spacewalk. With nine spacewalks, Williams sets a new record for women: spending the most time in his career.
Last minute hydraulic issues delayed Wednesday’s initial launch attempt. The focus has attracted one of two fixture weapons on the Falcon Rocket’s support structure, which needs to be tilted before liftoff. SpaceX later rushes out of the hydraulic system of the arm, clearing the trapped air.
They said the two had the toughest long-term stay for the family – Wilmore’s wife and two daughters, as well as Williams’ husband and mother. Besides being reunited with them, the church’s elder Wilmore is looking forward to the face-to-face minister, and Williams can’t wait to leave her two Labrador Retrievers.
“We thank everyone for their love and support,” Williams said in an interview earlier this week. “The mission has attracted some attention. There are commodities and disadvantages. But I think the benefit of space exploration is that more and more people are interested in what we are doing.”
