The Promise of Return: Sunita Williams' Future Descent After Her Extended Mission Aboard the ISS
Four astronauts are traveling to the International Space Station as part of a routine crew rotation mission. However, their journey has sparked political debates and controversy.
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Four astronauts are traveling to the International Space Station as part of a routine crew rotation mission. However, their journey has sparked political debates and controversy.
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on March 14 at 7:03 p.m. Eastern (March 15, 5:33 a.m. IST) for the Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, is expected to dock with the station on March 15 at 11:30 p.m. Eastern (March 16, 9:00 a.m. IST).
As the Crew Dragon detached from the Falcon 9's upper stage, a panel was seen drifting away.During a briefing after the launch, Sarah Walker, who leads Dragon mission management at SpaceX, explained that the object seen floating away was insulation from the Falcon 9's second-stage liquid oxygen tank. She assured that it did not cause any danger.
She explained that it was a foam material designed to do its job during the journey to orbit, and it was not a problem if it came off afterward.
Crew-10 is part of a regular series of missions that bring new crews to the International Space Station (ISS). The team includes:
- Anne McClain (NASA) – Mission commander
- Nichole Ayers (NASA)– Pilot
- Takuya Onishi (JAXA) – Mission specialist from Japan
- Kirill Peskov (Roscosmos) – Mission specialist from Russia
They will stay on the ISS for about six months.
Crew-10 was first set to launch in February, but NASA delayed it in December. The reason for the delay was that the new Crew Dragon spacecraft, which was supposed to be used for the mission, was not ready on time.
On February 11, NASA decided to use Endurance, a Crew Dragon that had already flown on three ISS missions. This helped avoid more delays in building the new spacecraft and allowed the launch to be moved up from late March to mid-March.
At a March 7 briefing, Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX's vice president for build and flight reliability, explained that an issue with a battery on the new Crew Dragon led to the decision to use a different spacecraft, according to SpaceNews.He explained that removing the battery was difficult because it required taking apart a large part of the capsule. He also mentioned that SpaceX teams have been mainly focused on preparing for the Crew-10 mission.
Using Endurance instead meant extra work had to be done before the launch.Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, said at a March 7 briefing that the Draco thrusters on this capsule last longer than those used in past missions. However, one thruster showed some wear on its protective coating, which helps prevent oxidation.
On March 11, NASA said that SpaceX carried out extra test firings on the thruster. The agency confirmed that after reviewing the test results and data, they approved it for flight.
The mission hit one last challenge before liftoff. On March 12, SpaceX had to cancel the launch less than 45 minutes before takeoff because of a hydraulic issue with a clamp arm on the Falcon 9’s support structure. NASA said on March 13 that workers fixed the problem by removing a trapped air pocket from the system.
Also read: SpaceX, NASA launch mission to bring back Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore from ISS; WATCH
Debate Over Crew-9's Return
When Crew-10 reaches the ISS, there will be a four-day handover before Crew Dragon Freedom departs, bringing the four Crew-9 members back to Earth.
Among them are
- NASA astronaut Nick Hague
- Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who traveled to the station aboard Freedom in September.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will also be on board. They have been at the station since June after arriving on a Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.
Williams and Wilmore were originally supposed to stay on the ISS for just eight days. However, problems with the Starliner spacecraft kept them there longer. In August, NASA decided that Starliner should return without a crew because of concerns about its thrusters.
Recently, officials have reconsidered the decision to keep Wilmore and Williams on the ISS. In January, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who is close to former President Trump, claimed that Trump told him to bring the astronauts back "as soon as possible." Musk also suggested that the Biden administration kept them on the ISS for political reasons.
Musk and Trump have repeated these claims multiple times, including during a joint interview on Fox News on February 18, according to SpaceNews.
Musk said he offered the Biden administration a plan to bring Williams and Wilmore back sooner. However, he has not shared any details, such as who he spoke to at the White House or when he made the proposal.
Former NASA leaders, including ex-administrator Bill Nelson and former deputy administrator Pam Melroy, said they had no knowledge of any proposal from SpaceX to the White House.
When asked about these claims during a March 7 briefing, NASA and SpaceX officials said politics did not influence their decisions about the Crew-10 launch or keeping Williams and Wilmore on the ISS.
Stich explained that they wanted to complete this mission before the Soyuz flight and an important resupply mission. He was referring to a Soyuz crew launch in early April and a cargo Dragon mission later that month.After reviewing the schedule, they decided on March 12 for the launch. He also mentioned that this plan was made before Trump and Musk’s comments.
Ken Bowersox, a top NASA official, said that Steve had been talking about changing flight schedules and switching capsules a month before anyone outside NASA mentioned it. However, he added that President interest brought more attention to the discussion, according to SpaceNews.
Officials said that last year, NASA and SpaceX explored ways to bring Wilmore and Williams back sooner. One idea was to add extra seats to the Crew Dragon’s middeck so it could carry six astronauts instead of four.
Bowersox said they always considered options like adding missions or bringing a capsule back early. However, they quickly decided against it because of budget limits and the need to keep crews on the International Space Station.
Gerstenmaier said they worked with NASA to come up with a plan. They decided to send only two astronauts on Crew-9, leaving extra seats for Suni and Butch to return. This plan matched what NASA wanted and fit their mission goals.
Stich said the best choice was the plan they are now following with Crew-9, which included flying with two empty seats. He also mentioned that NASA used its usual process to make this decision.
Bowersox explained that this is how they usually make decisions. The teams focus on what works best technically and for the mission. NASA leadership reviews the plan, and in this case, they agreed it was the right choice.
When asked about SpaceX's proposal to the White House last fall (September to November 2024 period), no details were given. Gerstenmaier said they worked with NASA to do what they thought was best.We were ready to help in whatever way they felt was best. They chose the option explained today, and we are supporting that decision.
(The author Girish Linganna of this article is an award-winning Science Writer and a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach him at: girishlinganna@gmail.com)
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