Their space mission was supposed to last a week, but shortly before their reentry, the Boeing capsule they were supposed to travel in was deemed unsafe for reentry to Earth. So, the two astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore remained in orbit for nine months , until today, when SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endurance shuttle docked with the International Space Station.
A rescue mission worthy of a movie , with the four astronauts of the Crew 10 mission who are now on board, welcomed with hugs and – even – the ringing of a bell. The return trip is scheduled for March 19. The Crew 10 mission includes Anne McClain, in command, and pilot Nichole Ayers, both of NASA, astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japanese space agency JAXA and cosmonaut Kirill Peskov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. They were enthusiastically welcomed on board by the Expedition 72 crew, which, in addition to Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, includes Nick Hague and Don Pettit, also of NASA, and cosmonauts Alexander Gorbunov, Ivan Vagner and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos.
The latter is the current commander of the International Space Station, after the handover from Suni Williams in recent days. The International Space Station is therefore crowded again, with 11 astronauts , but only for a few days, since Williams and Wilmore are expected to return to Earth shortly.
(Unioneonline/vf)
