By MARCIA DUNN
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX launched a rescue mission for the 2 astronauts stuck on the International Space Station on Saturday and sent a scaled-down crew to bring them home, but not until next 12 months.
The capsule shot into orbit to select up the test pilots Boeing spacecraft returned to Earth empty earlier this month as a consequence of safety concerns. The change in voyages left recovery to Nick Hague of NASA and Alexander Gorbunov of Russia Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
Because NASA rotates space station crews about every six months, this newly launched flight is not going to return until late February with two free seats for Wilmore and Williams. Officials said there was no approach to bring them back to SpaceX sooner without disrupting other planned missions.
When they return, the couple may have spent greater than eight months in space. When they signed up for Boeing's first astronaut flight, which launched in June, they expected to be gone for just per week.
NASA ultimately concluded that Boeing's Starliner was too dangerous after a cascade of problems with the engines and helium leaks marred the flight to the orbiting complex. The space agency excluded two astronauts from this SpaceX launch to make room for Wilmore and Williams on the return flight.
Williams has now been promoted to commander of the space station, which can soon return to its normal population of seven. Once Hague and Gorbunov arrive this weekend, 4 astronauts who’ve lived there since March will have the ability to depart in their very own SpaceX capsule. Their return home was delayed by a month as a consequence of the unrest on the Starliner.
Before the flight, Hague noted that change is the one constant in human spaceflight.
“There is always something that is changing. Maybe this time it was a little more visible to the public,” he said.
Hague was appointed rescue mission commander six years ago due to his experience and handling of a launch emergency. The Russian rocket failed shortly after launch and the capsule carrying him and a cosmonaut catapulted from the highest to safety.
New NASA astronaut Zena Cardman and veteran space flyer Stephanie Wilson were pulled from that flight after NASA selected SpaceX to bring the stranded astronauts home. Both had promised a future space mission and were at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where they attended the launch livestream. Gorbunov remained on the flight as a part of an exchange agreement between NASA and the Russian space agency.
“Every manned launch I have ever seen has really touched me. This one was particularly unique today,” said Cardman with tears in his eyes after the beginning within the early afternoon. “It was hard not to observe the rocket take off without considering, 'That's my rocket and that's my crew.' ”
Shortly before the beginning, Hague paid tribute to his two colleagues who had stayed behind: “Unbreakable. We did it together.” In orbit, he called it a “sweet ride” and thanked everyone who made it possible.
Previously, Hague acknowledged the challenge of launching with half a crew and returning with two astronauts trained on one other spacecraft.
“We have a dynamic challenge before us,” Hague said after arriving from Houston last weekend. “We know each other, are professionals and do what is asked of us.”
SpaceX has long been a pacesetter in NASA's industrial crew program, which was founded when the space shuttles were retired greater than a decade ago. SpaceX surpassed Boeing in carrying astronauts to the space station in 2020 and is now as much as 10 crew flights for NASA.
Boeing has struggled with quite a lot of problems through the years, repeating a Starliner test flight with nobody on board after the primary one went off beam. The Starliner that left Wilmore and Williams in space landed effortlessly within the New Mexico desert on September 6 and has since returned to Kennedy Space Center. Per week ago, Boeing's defense and space chief was replaced.
The latest SpaceX launch was delayed by Hurricane Helene, which hit Florida, and was the primary for astronauts from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. SpaceX took over the old Titan rocket platform nearly 20 years ago and used it for satellite launches while crews from Kennedy's former Apollo and shuttle pad flew round the corner. The company wanted more flexibility as more Falcon rockets got here onto the market.
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