NASA has postponed the return of astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to Earth due to a delay in sending the next crew to the International Space Station (ISS). The decision was made within 45 minutes of the scheduled launch after engineers identified a hydraulics issue in the ground system.
The countdown for Crew-10’s launch was stopped to address concerns with one of the clamp arms used to secure the Falcon 9 rocket. Although the system seemed functional, there were doubts about whether one arm would fully retract. NASA decided to delay the mission by at least two days to ensure safety.
The Crew-10 team, including commander Anne McClain, pilot Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, were ready for liftoff at Kennedy Space Center. However, technical troubleshooting led to a postponement.
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore were initially sent to the ISS for an eight-day mission focused on scientific research and experiments. However, due to issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, their stay has now stretched over eight months.
During their extended time on the ISS, Williams and Wilmore conducted research in biology, physics, and medicine while maintaining station systems. Their daily routine included exercise to counteract microgravity effects and participation in scientific studies.
Despite delays, Crew-9 completed over 200 experiments and met all mission objectives. Their work contributes to NASA’s long-term goals of sustaining human presence in low Earth orbit and advancing space exploration.
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