NASA, SpaceX Expedite Return of Stranded Astronauts

NASA announced Tuesday that two American astronauts trapped in the International Space Station (ISS) since June may return earlier than expected to Earth. Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, and their Boeing Starliner spacecraft have spent more than eight months on the International Space Station after experiencing propulsion issues.

After weeks of testing, the U.S. Space Agency decided that the Starliner would return to Earth without its crew. In August, it announced that Elon Musk’s SpaceX would be responsible for bringing the crew back home.

Musk, one the closest advisers to President Donald Trump, promised to bring them back “as quickly as possible” by the end of the month. Republicans blamed Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, for the delay.

Two astronauts arrived at the ISS on a SpaceX mission named Crew-9 in September, aboard a Dragon spacecraft with two seats left empty for Wilmore and Williams. Their return was delayed when NASA announced that Crew-10, who was to replace them, would not blast off until at least the end of March.

NASA announced on Tuesday that the mission will now launch on March 12, “pending mission readiness,” explaining that the change had been agreed upon with SpaceX following adjustments to the original plan.

The Crew-10 mission is now using an Endurance spacecraft, which has already been flown. This will save time on processing. The agency said that the astronauts would return to Earth after a period of handover lasting several days.

Wilmore and Williams reported that their spirits were high in January. They also said they were having a good time and had plenty of food.

Although their prolonged stay is noteworthy, it still hasn’t surpassed Frank Rubio’s record-breaking, 371 day stay aboard the ISS. He completed this in 2023 after the Russian spacecraft that was designated to return him developed a coolant leak.