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NASA and SpaceX postponed the launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station on Wednesday. This launch was intended to initiate the process of returning U.S. astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to Earth.
NASA planned to launch a SpaceX rocket from Florida to carry a new crew to the International Space Station. This mission would also enable astronauts Wilmore and Williams to return home after spending nine months in space following their flight on Boeing’s Starliner, which encountered some issues.
The launch was canceled due to a problem with the Falcon 9 rocket. NASA stated that the issue involved the hydraulic system of a ground support clamp arm. Launch teams are addressing the problem, which NASA also mentioned in a subsequent statement.
NASA plans to launch the Dragon spacecraft no earlier than 7:03 p.m. EDT on Friday. The launch was postponed from Thursday due to bad weather, including high winds and rain forecasted along the spacecraft’s flight path. If the Crew-10 mission successfully launches on Friday, the Crew-9 mission, featuring astronauts Wilmore and Williams, will return from the International Space Station on March 19.
The U.S. space agency advanced the mission two weeks after President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk urged astronauts Wilmore and Williams to return earlier than initially scheduled.
Wilmore and Williams were initially scheduled to stay on the space station for eight days; however, their stay has extended well beyond that. Both are experienced astronauts and U.S. Navy test pilots. The spacecraft they traveled on, Starliner, returned to Earth without them last year. A SpaceX rocket was set to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral at 7:48 p.m. ET. The crew for this mission included two U.S. astronauts, one from Japan and one from Russia.
Wilmore and Williams have been conducting research and maintenance alongside other astronauts on the space station. NASA has confirmed that they are safe. During a call on March 4, Williams expressed her excitement about returning home to see her family and dogs. She mentioned that her family has been through a tough time, describing their experience as a roller coaster. Despite the challenges, she added that life in space is intriguing and enjoyable because they are focused on their mission.
Crew-10, typically a routine astronaut rotation, has become a subject of political controversy. Trump and Musk have claimed that the delay in Wilmore and Williams’s return is due to the Obama administration. However, they have not provided any evidence to support their statements.
Trump and Musk requested the early return of two flight crew members, which is highly unusual and disrupted NASA’s human spaceflight operations. The capsule was initially scheduled for launch on March 26, but NASA replaced it with a different SpaceX capsule that could be launched sooner.
Wilmore, Williams, and two other crew members will return to Earth when the new crew arrives. Since September, they have been using a capsule attached to the space station as part of the Crew-9 mission. Wilmore and Williams must wait for the new Crew-10 spacecraft to arrive to ensure enough U.S. astronauts are on the space station for maintenance.
Wilmore and Williams flew to the station in June as the first test crew of Boeing’s Starliner. However, the spacecraft had propulsion system issues, so NASA decided it was too risky for them to return on the Starliner. Instead, they will return in a SpaceX capsule.
Boeing built Starliner under a $4.5 billion contract with NASA. It was meant to compete with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule. Since 2020, Crew Dragon has been NASA’s only vehicle for sending astronauts to space stations from the U.S. Last year’s mission was Starliner’s first test flight with astronauts. This test was required before NASA could certify the capsule for regular missions.
Since 2019, Starliner’s development has faced many engineering issues and cost overruns, putting it far behind SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Crew Dragon was developed under a NASA contract worth at least $4 billion.