NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have departed the International Space Station (ISS) aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, concluding a mission that extended over nine months due to technical issues with their original Boeing Starliner spacecraft. The duo, along with fellow astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, undocked from the ISS at 1:05 a.m. ET and are scheduled to splash down off Florida’s coast at 5:57 p.m. ET.
Originally launched in June 2024 for an eight-day test mission, Wilmore and Williams faced propulsion system problems with the Starliner, leading to an extended stay on the ISS. NASA later decided to bring them back aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon as part of the agency’s crew rotation schedule.
Their return marks the end of a mission filled with technical challenges and schedule changes, highlighting the complexities of modern space exploration and the importance of contingency planning.
Source: Swifteradio.com
