We May Have Sunita Williams in Earth Sooner Than Expected, But How?

When the entire world is concerned about Sunita Williams, the astronaut stranded in space along with Butch Wilmore, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has come out with a new plan to bring them back to Earth sooner than expected. NASA exchanged the astronaut capsule it intends to use for an upcoming flight to the International Space Station (ISS) which may result in an earlier return of the two astronauts by a few days.

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore went into space on June 5 last year aboard Boeing’s Starliner’s debut piloted flight. They have been stranded in space for over eight months now.  The initial plan of their space voyage was intended for an eight-to-10-day mission.

In an update about bringing Williams and Wilmore back, NASA has informed about its plan of opting for a previously flown SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule for its Crew-10 mission to the space station. NASA and SpaceX are accelerating the target launch and return dates for the upcoming crew rotation missions.

Earlier, a new SpaceX capsule was planned for use to bring the two stranded astronauts back to Earth as per the US space agency its production has been delayed. The NASA decision to swap the astronaut capsule has advanced the Crew-10 launch date to March 12, from the earlier target of March 25.

The Reason They Are Stranded

The Boeing’s Starliner’s piloted flight, with which they voyaged to space faced propellant leaks and pressurization problems in its propulsion system during its debut flight. The Starliner’s piloted flight is being considered as an alternative to billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s Crew Dragon.

The success of the return of two astronauts depends entirely on the arrival of the Crew-10’s four-person crew. Williams and Wilmore flew to the International Space Station (ISS) in the faulty Starliner capsule in June.