The besieged mission of NASA to save two stranded astronauts has finally been launched, so that the stage is set for a happy ending the nine -month Saga.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket successfully ran from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Friday evening, on a mission to deliver four new astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
The new team is planned to arrive at the station on Saturday. Once there, astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will finally return to earth at a certain moment or shortly after 19 March.
The couple has been stranded in a job since 5 June, where SpaceX owner Elon Musk and many others claimed that Williams and Wilmore remained at the ISS for political reasons.
The duo was initially planned for an eight -day shipment.
Musk said he offered to take the astronauts home eight months ago, but the Biden administration shot it down because the Donald Trump would have put it out well in the presidential race against former vice -president Kamala Harris.
The successful start comes after the crew-10 mission was scrubbed on the launch platform due to mechanical problems just a few minutes before the launch on Wednesday.
Crew-10 includes NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, the Japanese Takuya Onishi and the Russian Kirill Peskov.
In addition to Williams and Wilmore, NASA's Nick Hague and the Russian Aleksandr Gorbunov will return to the crew-9 Dragon Capsule of SpaceX that is already moored at the ISS.
NASA's besieged mission to save two stranded astronauts was finally successfully launched on Friday
Nasa's SpaceX Crew-10 Mission replaces Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore and two other astronauts on board the international space station with four new crew members
Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams were originally planned for an eight -day mission, but were forced to remain after technical problems the Boeing's Starliner who brought them to the ISS
The launch was initially scrubbed on Wednesday due to a problem with a hydraulic system with the SpaceX rocket that the new astronauts wore to space
Last year's presidential race seems to be the core of the reason why the astronauts have been stuck in space for so long.
Musk supported Trump during the presidential race of 2024, donated $ 288 million to his campaign and appeared on various Maga Rallies
During a recent press conference, Ken Bowersox, associated manager of the NASA's Space Operations Mission directorate, admitted that there had been conversations in the White House in Biden about postponing the return for political optics to have the day the most famous Donor of Trump, but he was not part of the discussions.
The launch of Wednesday Crew-10 was proclaimed due to a problem with the Hydraulic System with the Falcon 9 Rocket. NASA said teams worked to tackle the problem.
NASA was raised the return mission two weeks later after President Trump had told Musk to 'go' Williams and Wilmore '.
Before the president's request, the astronauts did not return until March 26.
“It has been a roller coaster for them, probably a bit more than for us,” said Williams about her family.
NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 Crew members Cosmonaut Mission Specialist Kirill Peskov of Russmos of Russia, pilot Nichole Ayers and Commander Anne McClain from us, and mission specialist Takuya Oneishi from Japanese Jaxa
“We are here, we have a mission – we just do what we do every day, and every day is interesting because we are in space and it is very nice.”
When the new crew arrives on board the station, Wilmore, Williams, Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov can return to the earth in the capsule that has been attached to the station since September.
Wilmore and Williams flew to the ISS as the first test team of Boeing's Starliner, who suffered problems with the propulsion system in space.
NASA thought it was too risky for the astronauts to fly home on the Boeing Craft. This led to the current plan to bring them home in a SpaceX capsule that arrived in September.
The space agency gave Boeing $ 4.5 billion contract to develop Starliner in an attempt to compete with Musk's SpaceX.
Bowersox said SpaceX 'helped with many options' to bring Williams and Wilmore back earlier, but The final decision was cost.
He explained that they discussed that they add a mission or brought the currently moored capsule home early, “but we quickly excluded them on the basis of how much money we have in our budget.”
The NASA budget for the tax year 2024 is slightly less than $ 30 billion.
President Donald Trump helps à Engii, the son of senior advisor of the White House, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the stairs of Marine One on the south of Lawn
Senior Consultant of the White House, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Commerce -Secretary Howard Lutnick, Communication director of the White House, Steven Cheung and deputy Chief of Stephen Miller, walk to Navy One on the South Lawn to become a member of the US President of the US President
It is after a report has established that the agency has spent millions on diversity, equity and inclusion (dei) subsidies and contracts, while Williams and Wilmore are detained in space.
Bill Gerstensmaier, vice -president for SpaceX, also said that the delayed plan of NASA enabled the agency to use Sunny and Butch in a very productive way 'and' maintaining science '.
The early return of the astronauts would have meant fewer bodies at the International Space Station (ISS) to continue research.
