Why Sunita Williams will remain in space till Feb 2025 despite SpaceX Dragon docking at ISS
What are the challenges? Are Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore alone inside the ISS? How long can they endure?
After months of uncertainty, SpaceX Dragon capsule, with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, successfully docked at International Space Station (ISS) as part of efforts to bring back Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore.
SpaceX launched the capsule on Saturday with two empty seats to accommodate Williams and Wilmore on their return journey to Earth in February 2025. Two Crew 9 astronauts-Stephanie Wilson and Zena Cardman-were removed from the mission, and the capsule was sent with supplies to replenish the ISS.
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“Wilmore and Williams will continue their work formally as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew through February 2025. They will fly home aboard a Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 mission,” NASA had said in a statement.
Why won't Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore return immediately?
The two astronauts remain safe aboard the ISS, which is also called a permanent ‘home’ in space for scientists deployed for technical research missions. The ISS remains well-stocked and efficiently supplied from time-to-time.
SpaceX is not the only spaceship docked at the ISS. SpaceX Dragon Endeavour (Crew-8 mission), the Northrop Grumman resupply ship, Soyuz MS-25 crew ship, Progress 88 and 89 resupply ships and Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft are other ones currently docked together with the ISS.
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Astronauts typically spend around six months in space as part of their missions. Hague and Gorbunov will also do the same before beginning their return to Earth with Williams and Willmore.
Also, Williams and Willmore are not stuck alone inside the ISS. Other fellow astronauts include Oleg Kononenko (Commander), Nikolai Chub, Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, and Alexander Grebenkin.
The crew capsules can also function as ‘lifeboats’ when the astronauts need to abandon the ISS in case of an emergency or threat to safety. Boeing's Starliner also acted as 'lifeboats' for Williams and Willmore before it was hit by thruster failures and helium gas leaks, leaving those two stranded inside ISS. With Starliner landing back on Earth, SpaceX Dragon will be the return vehicle for those two.
(With inputs from agencies)
