SpaceX launches spacecraft to rescue 2 astronauts stranded in orbit

TPO - SpaceX has just launched a mission to rescue two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is expected to last until next year.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Station, September 28. (Photo: AP)

On September 28, the capsule was launched into orbit to pick up the pilots, after Boeing's test flight was not allowed to return them to Earth due to safety concerns.

NASA rotates astronauts to the ISS about every six months, so the capsule with empty seats for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams won’t be back until late February 2025. Officials say there’s no way to get them back sooner without disrupting other scheduled missions.

By the time they return to Earth, the two astronauts will have been in space for more than eight months. They were scheduled to be gone for just a week when they signed up for Boeing’s first manned flight in June.

Ultimately, NASA decided that Boeing's Starliner was too risky to return two astronauts, after experiencing a series of thruster failures and helium leaks.

NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore make pizza on the ISS stove on September 9. The items are taped to the stove so they can stay still in the low-gravity environment. (Photo: NASA)

On September 28, Wilmore and Williams watched SpaceX's capsule launch via an online connection from the ISS to the ground.

SpaceX has been at the forefront of NASA’s commercial crew program since the space shuttle program was retired more than a decade ago. SpaceX has beaten Boeing to fly astronauts to the ISS and has flown 10 crewed flights for NASA.

Meanwhile, Boeing has had a series of problems in recent years. Its Starliner capsule just landed on Earth with empty seats.

Last week, Boeing's defense and space chief was replaced.

Binh Giang

According to AP

Source: https://tienphong.vn/spacex-phong-tau-vu-tru-giai-cuu-2-phi-hanh-gia-mac-ket-tren-quy-dao-post1677559.tpo