SpaceX launches astronauts for long-awaited International Space Station crew swap

SpaceX successfully brought four people into space on Friday and began a mission that gives the international space station enough occupation members so that astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore can return to Earth after their nine -month stay.

In the mission, known as crew-10, SpaceX’s Dragon SpaceCraft will be with the International Space Station (ISS) Dock late Saturday. The new astronauts will overlap with the existing crew for a few days before Williams and Wilmore (together with two others) return to our planet. This could happen until March 19, which allows the weather.

The SpaceX crew starts in the ISS routine, but this mission was very anticipated because Williams and Wilmore came to the station at all -and because SpaceX -CEO Elon Musk accused her longer stay to the former President Joe Biden.

The duo was part of the first start of Boeing Starliner spaceship last June. The test mission should be a crucial milestone in Boeing’s striving to compete with SpaceX to compete in the ISS crew.

Starliner should create with the ISS for 10 days before returning Williams and Wilmore to Earth. However, the spaceship had leaks and stripping problems, which Starliner delayed from docking with the ISS.

Starliner was finally connected to the station and the astronauts could go on board. But Boeing and NASA spent weeks to carry out tests and analyzes before they Decided in August Bring the starliner back empty to earth.

The NASA and SpaceX agreed to bring the astronauts home to the ISS, Crew-9 at the next occupation mission. They found two astronauts from this flight to absorb the return of Williams and Wilmore. A return flight was planned for February 2025; According to NASA, the ISS would have understood an earlier flight.

However, while Williams and Wilmore were on board the ISS, Musk Donald Trump helped to be elected a second time and started his AMOSLauf by the Federal Government with his Department of Government Efficiency. Musk began to say – both on x and in interviews – that he offered to bring the astronauts back In the past, but this bid was rejected for political reasons.

Musk has not presented any evidence of this claim. The former administrator and deputy administrator of NASA under Biden both said The space agency’s headquarters made no offer from Musk.