SpaceX Rocket launches Butch and Suni prepare for returns

SpaceX has launched a new crew to the International Space Station (ISS) rocket as part of a plan to bring astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams home.

The two will only be on the International Space Station for eight days, but they have been there for nine months due to technical issues with the experimental spacecraft they came to.

Astronauts will return to Earth two days after the new crew arrives. Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Business Staff Program, said he was happy with the prospect.

“Butch and Suni did a great job and we’re so glad to bring them back,” he said.

NASA’s Nick Hague and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov were also four astronauts from Russia, Japan and two astronauts from the United States and their ISS colleagues Nick Hague and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

There will be a two-day exchange, and then the old crew will start returning to Earth. However, according to Dana Weigel, manager of the ISS program, they could have a small delay when they wait for conditions on Earth to re-enter the return capsule correctly.

“The weather always has to cooperate, so if it’s not good, we’ll take some time.”

Ms. Weger explained that astronauts have begun preparing for last week’s handover.

“When Suni handed over the order to astronaut Alexei Ovchinin, Butch rang a ritual bell,” she said.

Astronauts have consistently said they were happy to join the space station, which Suni Williams described as her “happy place.” But Dr Simeon Barber of Open University told BBC News that there could be individual fees.

“When you are sent to work for a week during work, you don’t expect it to do your best for a year,” he said.

“This long stay in space will ruin family life and things will happen back to homes they will miss, so there will be some turmoil.”

Butch and Suni arrived at the International Space Station in early June 2024 to test an experimental spacecraft called Starliner, built by Aerospace, Boeing, a competitor to SpaceX.

The mission has been postponed for several years due to technical issues in spacecraft development and has problems during launch and docking of ISS. This includes problems with some of Starliner’s thrusters, which are issues that need to slow the spacecraft to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and leak helium in the propulsion system.

NASA believes that when they have the option to return them to SpaceX’s Dragon capsules, it doesn’t have a small risk to bring Butch and Suni back to Starliner. NASA decided that the best option was to do so in a scheduled crew rotation, although that meant putting astronauts on the space station for several months.

Boeing has always believed that bringing Butch and Suni back to Starliner is safe and unhappy with the decision to use competitors’ capsules, which would make Boeing “embarrassing”.

“It’s not a good look for Boeing to see the astronauts they bring into space return to space with the craft of their competitors.”

President Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Butch and Suni could have taken home soon, the most recent Joint interview with Fox News in February.

“They were left in space,” President Trump said.

When interviewer Sean Hannity detailed: “They should be there for eight days. They’re nearly 300 days,” Mr. Trump replied to a word: “Biden.” “For political reasons, they were left there,” Mr. Musk said.

NASA’s Steve Stitch denied the assertion.

“We looked at a variety of options and worked hand in hand with SpaceX to see what is best overall, and when we come up with all of these options, the best option is to have the options we are starting to do,” he said.

The decision was supported by Dr. Libby Jackson, the head of the space at the London Museum of Science, and worked at the European Control Centre at ISS.

“The well-being of Butch and Suni is always at the forefront of everyone’s mind because of deciding how best to deal with the situation they present,” she said.

“NASA made these decisions based on sufficient technical reasons, programmatic reasons and found the right solution to ensure the safety of Butch and Suni.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing them come back to Earth with the rest of the crew, safe and sound.”