NASA announced on Wednesday that the SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has been delayed, which was initially scheduled to bring back astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stranded in space.
The Crew-10 mission, which was intended to send a replacement crew to the ISS, needs to arrive before Williams and Wilmore can return to Earth after their nine-month mission in orbit. Engineers identified a problem with a crucial hydraulic system just hours before the scheduled launch of the Falcon rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The issue involved the hydraulics that control the release of one of the two arms securing the rocket to the launch pad. These arms must retract just before liftoff.
“There was an issue with the hydraulic system on the ground side,” NASA launch commentator Derrol Nail explained, adding that “everything was fine with the rocket and the spacecraft itself,” according to AFP.
With the four astronauts already secured in their capsule, the crew waited as technicians worked to resolve the issue. Less than an hour before launch, SpaceX called off the mission for the day. While a new launch date has not yet been confirmed, the company suggested that a new attempt could be made as soon as Thursday night.
Once Crew-10 reaches the ISS, the multinational crew—comprising members from the U.S., Japan, and Russia—will replace Williams and Wilmore. The two astronauts, who arrived in June, had their stay on the station extended after Boeing’s new Starliner capsule experienced significant malfunctions during transit. NASA directed the Starliner to return unmanned after what was intended to be a week-long crewed mission, and subsequently arranged for Williams and Wilmore’s return via SpaceX.
Crew-10’s Journey and Crew-9’s Return
NASA astronaut Anne McClain will command Crew-10, with Nichole Ayers serving as pilot. The mission also includes Takuya Onishi from Japan’s JAXA and Kirill Peskov from Russia’s Roscosmos, with both Ayers and Peskov making their first space journey. McClain and Onishi will be embarking on their second missions.
Upon Crew-10’s arrival at the ISS, the two crews will coordinate the handover, and both crews will temporarily be aboard the station together. Approximately four days after Crew-10 launches, Williams and Wilmore, along with NASA’s Nick Hague and Russian astronaut Alexander Gorbunov (who joined Crew-9), will board their spacecraft for the return journey to Earth. However, bad weather conditions near Florida’s splashdown zones may delay their return.
