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In the early hours of Sunday, a spacecraft built by Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully connected with the International Space Station (ISS), marking the beginning of a new chapter for the crew onboard. This mission allows U.S. astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to finally make their way back to Earth after what was meant to be a brief eight-day stay that extended to nine months.
The Dragon capsule, carrying a diverse team including astronauts from the U.S., Japan, and Russia, docked at precisely 12:04 a.m. Eastern Time. This successful rendezvous came 29 hours after the launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Once the new crew settled aboard the ISS, Williams warmly expressed to Mission Control how delighted they were to reunite with their friends. She, Wilmore, along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, are on schedule to head home on Wednesday, following a brief transition period. Until then, the space station will host a bustling team of 11 crew members.
During their mission, Williams and her colleagues dedicated an impressive 900 hours to research, carrying out over 150 scientific experiments. These experiments ranged from studying optimal garden watering techniques in space to developing exercise routines to help maintain astronaut fitness.
Describing her prolonged stay as “a unique experience,” Williams recounted her yearning for earthly pleasures such as witnessing weather changes and walking her dogs. In a recent NASA interview, she expressed her anticipation of feeling earthly weather again, whether it’s rain, wind, or heat.
Meanwhile, Hague and Gorbunov reached the ISS in September aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom, which is now set to transport Williams and Wilmore back to Earth.
Originally, the plan was for Williams and Wilmore to return using Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, the craft that ferried them to the ISS last June. Unfortunately, NASA decided in August that the Starliner wasn’t fit for the return due to thruster malfunctions and helium leaks encountered during its launch.
This decision dealt an embarrassing blow to Boeing. It cast doubts on the aerospace giant’s space endeavors, particularly since their commercial aviation sector was under scrutiny after last year’s incident involving a door panel detachment mid-flight on a 737 Max.
The Starliner program was designed to showcase Boeing’s prowess in the evolving space industry, where the private sector manages its own rockets and resources, offering cargo and crew services to NASA. However, with persistent setbacks and delays leaving Boeing five years behind SpaceX, industry analysts view the Starliner as emblematic of broader troubles within Boeing’s space operations.
Despite these challenges, Boeing has refuted claims that the astronauts were left “stranded,” maintaining that the extended stay should not be seen as a failure.
