After 9 months of stay in International Space, Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore return to Earth – this trip lasted far more than the original plan Leaks and thruster issues They once got there on the Boeing Superstar spacecraft.
Williams and Wilmore splashed in the Gulf of Mexico at 5:57 pm Tuesday after a 17-hour return from the International Space Station (ISS).
Their return marks the end of the recent Stranger Chapter in space flight history due to problems encountered by Boeing’s Starliner and the return of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s politicized astronauts.
Williams and Wilmore were initially launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in June 2024, which is crucial for Boeing to try to compete with SpaceX. The aviation behemoth won a contract with SpaceX in 2014 to send astronauts to ISS to NASA in an attempt to eventually bring it further into the solar system.
SpaceX executes it First crew flight In 2020 the Cored Dragon Spacecraft – in the early days of the Covid pandemic. Meanwhile, Boeing’s Starliner project was Cost overspending and delay.
The June 2024 flight would have helped Boeing surpass all of this. The goal is to send Williams and Wilmore to the International Space Station and then take them home after a short stay. But Starliner even had problems before docking with ISS. Once they finally boarded the ship, NASA and Boeing took a few weeks to test it before deciding to bring the Starliner back without astronauts.
NASA quickly began working with SpaceX, planning to bring Willams and Wilmore back. After walking back and forth for a while, they decided to wait until early 2025 to bring the duo home to avoid insufficient ISS.
In recent months, though, Musk has claimed (without providing any evidence) that he has made something to bring astronauts home early — a proposal that former President Joe Biden rejected, as it would help his political rival Donald Trump.
NASA Both explain The Space Administration is not aware of any offer. CNN Report Tuesday Senior White House officials also claimed they were not aware of any offer.
