Stuck NASA astronauts welcome SpaceX capsule that’ll bring them home

Written by Site Hub on September 30, 2024

Two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, stranded at the International Space Station (ISS) since June, welcomed a SpaceX capsule that will bring them home in 2024. SpaceX launched a rescue mission on Saturday with a crew of two astronauts and two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams. This came after NASA deemed their original Boeing Starliner capsule unsafe due to thruster failures and helium leaks. As a result, Starliner returned to Earth empty, and Wilmore and Williams’ mission was extended from a week to over eight months.

The new Dragon capsule, carrying NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Alexander Gorbunov, successfully docked at the ISS, allowing the stranded astronauts a chance to return next year. Meanwhile, two other astronauts who have been on the station since March will return to Earth in just over a week. This mission marks another collaboration between NASA and SpaceX, as Boeing faces further delays and repairs with its Starliner program.