Left Earth Last June Aboard Boeing Spacecraft
Originally Planned to Stay About a Week on the Space Station
Returning to Earth Expected to Incur Astronomical Additional Costs
The return to Earth of two NASA astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) has been delayed once again. Originally scheduled to stay for about a week, their mission has now extended beyond nine months. On the 13th (local time), foreign media including CBS News reported that the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which was scheduled to take off from the Cape Canaveral space center in Florida, was canceled an hour before launch due to a ground system hydraulic issue, unexpectedly postponing the return of the two astronauts.
Unexpectedly, astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are on long-term stay at the ISS. Photo by AP and Yonhap News
The rocket was supposed to carry SpaceX's Crew-10 manned spacecraft with four astronauts aboard, but the launch was canceled due to system problems. As a result, the Earth return schedule of astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been unexpectedly staying long-term on the ISS, was also delayed. Earlier, veteran NASA astronauts Wilmore and Williams left Earth and arrived at the ISS last June aboard Boeing's spacecraft, Starliner, for its first manned test flight.
They were originally scheduled to complete their mission in about a week and return to Earth using the Starliner spacecraft they arrived in. However, after the spacecraft docked with the ISS, several gas defects including helium leaks were detected, causing the schedule to be postponed. Subsequently, the Starliner returned unmanned, marking the beginning of their stranded status in space. The two planned to stay longer on the ISS with the Crew-9 team who joined in September of the same year and return in February this year, but their return was delayed again due to issues with spacecraft availability.
On the 13th (local time), CBS News and other foreign media reported that the launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, scheduled to take off from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex in Florida, was canceled one hour before launch due to a ground system hydraulic issue, unexpectedly delaying the return of two astronauts. UPI·Yonhap News
NASA and SpaceX plan to attempt the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew-10 spacecraft again around the 15th. Currently, aboard the ISS orbiting Earth at an altitude of 400 km at a speed of 27,000 km/h, in addition to the four astronauts whose return has been delayed, there are three astronauts from the Russian Soyuz spacecraft MS-26 launched on September 11 last year. Meanwhile, three Chinese astronauts who boarded the Shenzhou 19 spacecraft are staying at China's space station Tiangong, which orbits higher than the ISS, making a total of 10 people currently in space. It is reported that launching a spacecraft solely to return the two astronauts would cost several hundred billion won in additional expenses. The two astronauts themselves have repeatedly expressed in media interviews that they have no complaints about their extended stay on the ISS.
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