Astronauts Stranded in Space Are Now One Step Closer to Returning Home

On Saturday afternoon, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral for a mission that marked the first human spaceflight to lift off from the company's Space Launch Complex-40. 

The mission, however, will likely be remembered for something different. In August, NASA determined that SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission would be the solution to a months-long space drama that turned astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore’s eight-day stay at the International Space Station (ISS) into eight months.

“This mission required a lot of operational and planning flexibility. I congratulate the entire team on a successful launch today,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in the statement on Saturday. “Our NASA wizards and our commercial and international partners have shown once again the success that comes from working together and adapting to changing circumstances without sacrificing the safe and professional operations of the International Space Station.”

NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 Launch

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Nelson’s mention of “changing circumstances” likely refers to the fact that NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov should have been accompanied by astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, per CBS News’ William Harwood, but they were booted from the Crew-9 mission to make room for Williams and Wilmore on the return trip in February.

The Crew-9 mission’s capsule – called Freedom – docked at the ISS on Sunday evening, per Space.com’s Mike Wall, and Hague and Gorbunov were greeted by the crew members already at the space station.

That includes Williams and Wilmore, who arrived at the ISS in June on Boeing’s Starliner capsule expecting to stay for just over a week. The mission, however, turned into a months-long odyssey when Starliner experienced helium leaks and thruster issues after launch.

NASA extended their stay as the American space agency and Boeing investigated the issues throughout the summer. The former ultimately concluded that it was too risky for the astronauts to return on the capsule, thus they saved two seats on SpaceX’s Freedom capsule and Starliner returned to earth without its crew in early September.

With Freedom docked at the ISS, Williams and Wilmore “are now within reach of the spacecraft that will eventually bring them home,” Jackie Wattles writes for CNN. Hague and Gorbunov’s arrival, however, also experienced issues.

“After today’s successful launch of Crew-9, Falcon 9’s second stage was disposed in the ocean as planned, but experienced an off-nominal deorbit burn,” SpaceX writes in a statement on X. “As a result, the second stage safely landed in the ocean, but outside of the targeted area. We will resume launching after we better understand root cause.”

After today’s successful launch of Crew-9, Falcon 9’s second stage was disposed in the ocean as planned, but experienced an off-nominal deorbit burn. As a result, the second stage safely landed in the ocean, but outside of the targeted area.

We will resume launching after we…

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 29, 2024

In other words, the section of the Falcon 9 rocket that propelled the first part of the flight misfired after separating from the craft. Now SpaceX has suspended future launches while they investigate the issue. Either way, Freedom won’t be returning to earth until February, so Williams and Wilmore have plenty of time to join the space station’s Expedition 72, which has grown to seven strong with Hague and Gorbunov. During their time at the ISS, the crew will conduct hundreds of scientific investigations, including vision changes in astronauts, the effects of moisture on space-grown plants and blood cell development.

Margherita Bassi | READ MORE

Margherita Bassi is a freelance journalist and trilingual storyteller. Her work has appeared in publications including BBC Travel, Discover magazine, Live Science, Atlas Obscura and Hidden Compass.