- By Nidhi Giri
- Wed, 12 Feb 2025 01:34 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will return to Earth sooner than expected after the US Space Agency on Tuesday announced that it swapped out the astronaut capsule it was planning to use with a previously flown SpaceX Crew Dragon for its Crew-10 mission. The launch, which was previously scheduled for March 25, has now been moved up to March 12. However, this is "pending mission readiness and completion of the agency's certification of flight readiness process," NASA said in its announcement. The Crew-9 mission will return after completing a handover procedure with the newly arrived Crew-10 expedition team, the space agency said.
The 59-year-old Sunita Williams has been trapped with her colleague Butch Wilmore since last June after the Boeing Starliner capsule experienced mechanical issues and had to return from the International Space Station (ISS) without them. The mission was originally planned to last just one week.
Why Is NASA Using Already Flown SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule?
NASA said that the mission management teams decided to use an already flown SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule instead of a new one as its production has apparently been delayed. The capsule, which will now be used, is called 'Endurance'.
"Teams will work to complete Dragon’s refurbishment and ready the spacecraft for flight, which includes trunk stack, propellant load, and transportation to SpaceX’s hangar at 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to be mated with the mission’s Falcon 9 rocket," NASA's statement said.
The Crew-10 mission will include NASA astronauts Anne McClain, commander and Nichole Ayers, pilot. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, mission specialist; and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, mission specialist.
(With Agency Inputs)