Sunita Williams Is Not Coming Back In February As NASA Delays Crew-10 Launch Date

Science News: NASA has announced that SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is now targeting no earlier than late March 2025 for its launch. With the launch previously scheduled for February, the delay gives NASA and SpaceX additional time to finalise preparations for a new Dragon spacecraft that will be used for the mission, the agency said in a statement.

The revised timeline also means that the return of Crew-9 to Earth, originally planned for early 2025, will be further delayed. NASA astronaut Sunita 'Suni' Williams, who is the commander of the space station, will remain in space even longer, extending her mission as part of Expedition 72.

Williams arrived aboard ISS in June 2024, along with another veteran astronaut Butch Wilmore, as part of Boeing Starliner’s first test flight to the space station. What was supposed to be a weeklong trip got extended for an indefinite period as the Boeing capsule developed certain glitches, and NASA decided in August that it was too risky to bring the two back to Earth aboard the Starliner. 

Williams and Wilmore have been on an extended mission ever since, with the duration of their stay stretching to over nine months if they return late March — and more, if the Crew-10 launch is adjusted again.

The two seasoned astronauts, along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, are to be brought back by the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that is taking the Crew-10 members to ISS.  

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Crew-10 Launch 

The Dragon spacecraft, currently undergoing fabrication, assembly, and testing, is expected to arrive at SpaceX’s processing facility in Florida in early January, NASA said in the statement. Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, emphasised the efforts required to prepare the new spacecraft. 

“Fabrication, assembly, testing, and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavor that requires great attention to detail,” he said, adding: “We appreciate the hard work by the SpaceX team to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions and the flexibility of the station program and expedition crews as we work together to complete the new capsule’s readiness for flight.”

The Crew-10 mission will carry NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov to the ISS. All four crew members are undergoing intensive training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, preparing for the mission that will include scientific investigations and technology demonstrations aboard the space station.

NASA said its decision to delay the Crew-10 mission followed a comprehensive assessment of options, including the possibility of using an existing Dragon spacecraft. Ultimately, the agency determined that completing the new capsule’s readiness for launch was the best course of action for meeting NASA’s objectives and maintaining the integrity of its Commercial Crew Program.