You may bear in mind the story of the 2 astronauts on board the Worldwide Area Station that went for an 8 day mission, that was again in June 2024! Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been stranded there ever since however their journey dwelling has simply arrived on the ISS. A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov has simply docked in order that the 2 can be part of the Expedition 72 crew already on board. There at the moment are 11 folks on boar the ISS however the Crew-9 capsule will return in February carrying Wilmore and Williams lastly again dwelling.
Being stranded in area sounds just like the stuff of nightmares however the actuality is a bit more mundane….if area journey can ever be classed as mundane! The 2 astronauts dwelling this actuality, Wilmore and Williams have been caught on board the ISS on account of thruster issues on the difficulty stricken Starliner capsule. Exams had been accomplished, evaluation undertaken however the module was autonomously returned dwelling for additional exams with out the chance to an onboard crew.
Enter the Dragon capsule. Developed by SpaceX, the cutting-edge spacecraft was designed to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS. It’s been a key a part of NASA’s Business Crew Program and has been a big growth within the personal area sector. One of many key options of the capsule is in its automation, not requiring any pilot to finish its journey but it surely, if wanted, be managed manually. Considerably extra reliably than the Starliner, the Dragon capsule safely docked and its hatch opened at 7.04pm EDT (23:04 GMT.)
The Dragon capsule is launched into low Earth orbit by the Falcon 9 rocket. The 2 stage rocket was additionally developed by Area X and has operated reliably since its first launch in June 2010. Along with the Dragon capsule, they will ship crewed and uncrewed missions into low Earth orbit.
The occupants of the Dragon, Nick Hague and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov joined the 9 current crew members of the Expedition 72 crew. The astronauts on board are Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, Don Petitt, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams and cosmonauts Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.
Assuming all goes to plan, Wilmore and Williams will return again with the Dragon capsule in February turning their 8 day mission to an 8 month mission! Fingers crossed for them.