Technical Issue Delays NASA and SpaceX Rocket Launch
NASA and SpaceX postponed the launch of a replacement crew to the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday. The mission was expected to pave the way for the long-awaited return of US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been stranded in space for nine months.
The launch, set to take place from Florida, was halted due to a hydraulic system issue with a ground support clamp arm for the Falcon 9 rocket, NASA stated. Teams are now working to resolve the issue, with a new target launch set for no earlier than Friday at 7:03 p.m. EDT (2303 GMT). A Thursday attempt was ruled out due to expected high winds and rain along the Dragon spacecraft’s flight path.
Wilmore and Williams Await Return After Extended Stay
If the Crew-10 mission launches on Friday, the Crew-9 astronauts, including Wilmore and Williams, are scheduled to leave the ISS on Wednesday, March 19. Originally, NASA had planned their return for March 26 but moved the timeline forward following calls from former US President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk for their earlier retrieval.
Wilmore and Williams initially flew to the ISS in June aboard Boeing’s Starliner, which suffered propulsion issues. Due to safety concerns, NASA decided against using Starliner for their return, opting instead for a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Their planned eight-day stay has now extended to nine months. Throughout their time aboard the ISS, both astronauts have continued maintenance work and research.
Williams shared in a March 4 call that she looks forward to reuniting with her family and pets. “It’s been a roller coaster for them, probably a little bit more so than for us,” she said. “We’re here, we have a mission—we’re just doing what we do every day, and every day is interesting because we’re up in space and it’s a lot of fun.”
Political Pressure and NASA’s Spaceflight Strategy
The Crew-10 mission, usually a routine astronaut rotation, has been drawn into political discussions. Trump and Musk have claimed, without evidence, that the delayed return of Wilmore and Williams was the fault of former US President Joe Biden’s administration. Their public demands for an earlier return were an unusual intervention in NASA’s human spaceflight decisions.
To speed up the process, NASA swapped the originally planned SpaceX capsule with another that was ready sooner. Once the new Crew-10 team reaches the ISS, Wilmore, Williams, and two others—NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov—will return to Earth using a capsule that has been docked at the station since September.
Boeing’s Starliner was developed under a $4.5 billion NASA contract to compete with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which has been NASA’s primary crew transport vehicle since 2020. However, Starliner has faced multiple engineering setbacks and cost overruns, delaying its certification for routine missions.
With inputs from Reuters