Setback for Sunita Williams as SpaceX delays ISS mission to replace NASA's stranded crew

SpaceX delayed the planned set in motion of Crew-10 on midweek due to a last-minute technological supply with the rocket's launchpad. The missionary post was set to send four replacement astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), paving the way for the long-overdue return of US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams. The two have been stranded in space for nine months after their trip on Boeing’s malfunctioning Starliner.

Officials announced the cancellation during the launch countdown but did not immediately confirm a new launch date.

NASA had planned to launch a SpaceX rocket from Florida to send a replacement crew to the International Space Station, a mission that would have facilitated the long-overdue return of astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams. The two have been stranded in space for nine months following their trip aboard Boeing’s malfunctioning Starliner.

The US space agency had accelerated the mission by two weeks after President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk urged an earlier return for Wilmore and Williams than originally scheduled.

The astronauts, both experienced Navy test pilots, were initially supposed to stay on the ISS for just eight days, but their mission was significantly overrun. Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which ferried them to space, returned to Earth last year – without them.

A SpaceX rocket was set to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral at 7.48 pm ET (2348 GMT), carrying a four-member crew consisting of two U.S. Astronauts and one astronaut each from Japan and Russia.

NASA confirmed that Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams remain safe while assisting with research and maintenance on the International Space Station (ISS). In a March 4 call, Williams expressed eagerness to reunite with her family and pet dogs after her extended mission. “It's been a roller coaster for them, probably more so than for us,” she said, noting that despite the delay, their work on the ISS remains engaging and fulfilling.

The Crew-10 mission, originally intended as a routine astronaut rotation, has become politically charged. President Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have criticised the delay in Wilmore and Williams' return, attributing it – without evidence – to former President Joe Biden’s administration. Their push for an earlier return marked an unusual political intervention in NASA’s human spaceflight operations.

NASA had initially scheduled the Crew-10 launch for March 26 but expedited the mission by swapping in a SpaceX capsule that could be ready sooner. Once the new crew reaches the ISS, Wilmore, Williams, NASA astronaut Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will return to Earth using a capsule that has been docked at the station since September as part of the Crew-9 mission.

NASA said that Wilmore and Williams must remain on the ISS until Crew-10 arrives to ensure enough US astronauts are available for station maintenance.

Wilmore and Williams arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) in June as the first astronauts to test Boeing’s Starliner. However, propulsion system malfunctions in space made it too dangerous for them to return on the spacecraft, prompting NASA to arrange their return aboard a SpaceX capsule instead.

Boeing developed Starliner under a $4.5 billion contract with NASA as a competitor to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which has been the agency’s primary crew transport vehicle since 2020. The 2023 mission was Starliner’s first test flight carrying astronauts—an essential step toward NASA certifying the capsule for regular crewed missions.

However, Starliner’s development has faced persistent technical problems and budget overruns since 2019, significantly delaying the program. In contrast, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, developed under a similar NASA contract worth at least $4 billion, has been operational for years and remains the only U.S. Spacecraft currently used for ISS crew rotations.

(With Reuters inputs)

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