NewStats: 3,263,970 , 8,182,110 topics. Date: Monday, 09 June 2025 at 06:13 AM 2x5n1j

6382y

Spacex’s Crew-10 Arrives At The ISS, Paving The Way For NASA’s Astronauts Return - Foreign Affairs - Nairaland 5r1e66

Spacex’s Crew-10 Arrives At The ISS, Paving The Way For NASA’s Astronauts Return (10717 Views)

(4)

(1) Go Down)

AImiron(m): 12:30am On Mar 17
A crew of astronauts who will take over duties on the International Space Station from NASA’s Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — allowing the duo to return home after a days-long journey turned into a nine-month, politically charged trip — have arrived at the orbiting laboratory.

The Crew-10 mission, part of a routine staff rotation tly operated by NASA and SpaceX, took off at 7:03 p.m. ET Friday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A SpaceX Dragon capsule, riding atop one of the company’s Falcon 9 rockets, carried the four Crew-10 astronauts — NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov — to orbit.

The four crew docked with the space station around 12:04 a.m. ET on Sunday. They will spend a few days in a “handover” period with Williams, Wilmore, and their fellow Crew-9 astronauts, NASA’s Nick Hague and Roscosmos’ Aleksandr Gorbunov.

The Crew-9 Dragon capsule has been docked at the space station since September. If all goes according to plan, Williams, Wilmore, Hague and Gorbunov will climb aboard the Crew-9 spacecraft and head back to Earth as soon as March 19.

NASA had slated Williams, Wilmore and the other Crew-9 astronauts to return as soon as Sunday. However, their departure hinges on the safe arrival of the relief crew — and SpaceX called off an attempt to launch the Crew-10 mission on Wednesday due to issues with the company’s launchpad ground systems.

The new date is closer in line to a late March departure time that NASA gave the astronauts in December before SpaceX opted to swap the Dragon capsule it used to fly Crew-10 in an attempt to accelerate Williams and Wilmore’s return.

Launch attempts are routinely called off because of technical issues, but the slight delay in getting Crew-10 off the ground has reignited conversations of Williams and Wilmore being “stuck” or “stranded” in space — descriptors the two astronauts have rejected.

Launch attempts are routinely called off because of technical issues, but the slight delay in getting Crew-10 off the ground has reignited conversations of Williams and Wilmore being “stuck” or “stranded” in space — descriptors the two astronauts have rejected.

“That’s been the narrative from day one: stranded, abandoned, stuck — and I get it, we both get it,” Wilmore told CNN’s Anderson Cooper in February. “Help us change the narrative, let’s change it to: prepared and committed despite what you’ve been hearing. That’s what we prefer.”

After the hand-off of duties to Crew-10 astronauts is complete, the Crew-9 astronauts can board their capsule and undock — and that milestone will kick off the final stretch of Williams and Wilmore’s fraught journey.

While their stay in space has become increasingly politicized, with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump asserting the Biden istration abandoned the duo in space, Williams and Wilmore have known since at least last summer they would return home with Crew-9 as part of a routine staffing rotation.

Acting NASA Janet Petro said during Friday’s launch webcast that she spoke to Williams and Wilmore and their crewmates last week.

She said they suspect the four astronauts will have “mixed emotions.”

“Every time you get to go to space — which is what all astronauts want to do — you never know it might be your last time, because you might not be selected for another mission,” Petro said. “So I bet they have mixed emotions leaving their colleagues up there at the space station. I’m sure they’re anxious to get home and put their feet on Earth and spend time with their family — but I think that they have enjoyed their time in space.”
Source: CNN

8 Likes

AImiron(m): 12:32am On Mar 17
I Joe Biden's government refused SpaceX help to bring the Astronauts home.

15 Likes

id4sho(m): 6:40am On Mar 17
shocked
tobtap: 6:41am On Mar 17
good
Northernblood8(m): 6:41am On Mar 17
A
Judolisco(m): 6:43am On Mar 17
Omo... If you explain to some people now that there's an international space station orbiting the earth, with people in it.... Dem go talk say na lie.... We really need to work hard in Africa oh... Jst dis morning we go soon start to dey talk about natasha and Akpabio... Giant of Africa oh grin

109 Likes 9 Shares

cathodekazim: 6:43am On Mar 17
Oh. Elon Musk controlled Space X. Now I understand
Kreesxxx: 6:44am On Mar 17
Thank God.

1 Like

sammyj: 6:45am On Mar 17
grin
mightyhaze: 6:45am On Mar 17
Look what oyinbos are racking brains about...

Here we are debating whether or not a young corp member has the right to express frustrations for being paid 33k a month in an economy where the cheapest mama put is 2k per meal

54 Likes 2 Shares

bewisemasses: 6:46am On Mar 17
Op edit ur doc. A whole paragraph is repeated twice.
See intelligent nations on great life goals and missions. Here a pot bellied man and light skinned woman won't allow our media space rest

10 Likes

ruggedtimi(m): 6:47am On Mar 17
Judolisco:
Omo... If you explain to some people now that there's an international space station orbiting the earth, with people in it.... Dem go talk say na lie.... We really need to work hard in Africa oh... Jst dis morning we go soon start to dey talk about natasha and Akpabio... Giant of Africa oh grin
the earth is flat people

8 Likes

Btruth: 6:49am On Mar 17
Good one Elon 👍
Commentor: 6:50am On Mar 17
AImiron:
I Joe Biden's government refused SpaceX help to bring the Astronauts home.

That's a lie that was debunked by Astronauts themselves.

7 Likes

nairalanda1(m): 6:51am On Mar 17
Judolisco:
Omo... If you explain to some people now that there's an international space station orbiting the earth, with people in it.... Dem go talk say na lie.... We really need to work hard in Africa oh... Jst dis morning we go soon start to dey talk about natasha and Akpabio... Giant of Africa oh grin

A lot of white people believe that the moon landings never happened and the earth is flat,.for example

It's not just Africans.

Also in my experience, most Africans are too busy trying to make a living to care about mankind's exploits in space. It's great to know that Voyager 2 is still sending data to earth, but e no put food on the table.

12 Likes 2 Shares

Commentor: 6:51am On Mar 17
AImiron:
I Joe Biden's government refused SpaceX help to bring the Astronauts home.

Stop telling lies.

1 Like 1 Share

Sheuns(m): 6:51am On Mar 17
It’s amazing what humans have achieved in space race that started in the 1950s.

In Africa we’re still battling hunger.

13 Likes 1 Share

nairalanda1(m): 6:52am On Mar 17
AImiron:
I Joe Biden's government refused SpaceX help to bring the Astronauts home.

Not necessarily true.

Space x needed time to get their craft ready

4 Likes 1 Share

nairalanda1(m): 6:53am On Mar 17
mightyhaze:
Look what oyinbos are racking brains about...

Here we are debating whether or not a young corp member has the right to express frustrations of being paid 33k a month in an economy where the cheapest mama put is 2k per meal

Okay, let's charge higher taxes, higher school.fees to fund our universities and research institutions, stop relying on oil, charge higher power tarrifs, and become an industrial economy first, then we can talk

3 Likes 2 Shares

Houseofglam7(f): 6:56am On Mar 17
I doubt those astronauts will be able to walk when they get to earth. The muscle wasting would’ve been irreversible. But we’ll see. Hoping for the best 🤞

2 Likes

Favoritechrist2: 6:58am On Mar 17
The international space station is an orbiting laboratory where research is been carried on how to grow plants in zero gravity, and how human being can survive in space.

3 Likes 1 Share

nairalanda1(m): 6:58am On Mar 17
Houseofglam7:
I doubt those astronauts will be able to walk when they get to earth. The muscle wasting would’ve been irreversible. But we’ll see. Hoping for the best 🤞

They will..it will take some time.

Also exercise in space helps

1 Like

Eleph(m): 7:01am On Mar 17
At last!

1 Like

naijapikin2(m): 7:07am On Mar 17
Thank God for sparing their lives.

1 Like

nairalanda1(m): 7:12am On Mar 17
Sheuns:
It’s amazing what humans have achieved in space race that started in the 1950s.

In Africa we’re still battling hunger.

Do you want your government to plunge our country into debt that would be ten times worse than what we have now so that we can have a manned space program?

Also, we need a strong aerospace industry and good power supply before we can get to sending men and women to space.

And anyway we have built satellites that have been sent up to space.

1 Like

Kingpele(m): 7:13am On Mar 17
Human beings will depart from the earth months and still return back from the trip but here in Nigeria, agbadorians will abandon thier brains for years I of evil policies of APC government.. we still have a long way to go

1 Like

tuoyoojo(m): 7:17am On Mar 17
The amount of bone loss the astronauts would be suffering would be much with close to a year staying in space due to lack of gravity

She might need to spend time in the hospital to get her eyes and other organs checks to access the damages

The human body is not built for zero gravity existence

2 Likes

SugarRay001: 7:19am On Mar 17
nairalanda1:


Okay, let's charge higher taxes, higher school.fees to fund our universities and research institutions, stop relying on oil, charge higher power tarrifs, and become an industrial economy first, then we can talk
And you would be charging all these without no good jobs provided for people to work and no basic amenities amidst all the corruption and mis nanagement in government rightsome of ona just foolish ,,,,tueh

9 Likes 1 Share

Tradepunter2: 7:22am On Mar 17
nairalanda1:


Okay, let's charge higher taxes, higher school.fees to fund our universities and research institutions, stop relying on oil, charge higher power tarrifs, and become an industrial economy first, then we can talk

You foolish.... What tax?? Have you ever seen the tax you paid.... I hate people like you

9 Likes 2 Shares

LOVEGINO(m): 7:22am On Mar 17
AImiron:

Source: CNN
wetin come concern us now?
JuanDeDios: 7:26am On Mar 17
AImiron:

Source: CNN
I wonder what them stranded guys're eating. Sure they don't have McDonald's there.
nairalanda1(m): 7:26am On Mar 17
Tradepunter2:


You foolish.... What tax?? Have you ever seen the tax you paid.... I hate people like you

You can yell abuse, but about 30 percent of Nigerians pay tax to federal and state governments. Our budget is heavily.dependent on oil revenues as a result.

Anyways..

2 Likes

(1) Reply)

Kayleigh McEnany Test Positive For COVID-19

(Go Up)

Sections: How To . 59
Disclaimer: Every Nairaland member is solely responsible for anything that he/she posts or s on Nairaland.