NASA: Stranded Astronauts Heading Back to Earth after Nine Months in Space

Washington, 18 Mar (ONA) —- NASA announced today that the SpaceX Dragon craft carrying the stranded US astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut, has undocked from the International Space Station (ISS).

The spacecraft is scheduled to return to Earth on Wednesday, at 15:25 Moscow time, landing off the coast of Florida. The astronauts went on what was meant to be an eight day mission to the International Space Station aboard a Boeing Starliner on 5 June 2024, but they were stranded on the ISS due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner.

In a statement on its website, NASA said that, "NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, are completing a long-duration science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory and will return time-sensitive research to Earth."

The Boeing Starliner trip was the first flight of its kind with people on board. It was meant to test how the new spacecraft performed. However, the mission faced technical issues, including helium leaks and thruster malfunctions, which meant that the Starliner became unsafe for their return and was brought back to Earth without them.

After the crew was stranded for more than two months in space, the decision was made in August for them be brought back to Earth in March on a SpaceX craft.

—- Ends/Khalid