The NASA mission to the International Space Station that will bring home two astronauts who have been stuck there for nine months is scheduled to launch Friday night, after technical difficulties and weather delayed a planned launch earlier this week.
The new launch time for the NASA SpaceX Crew 10 mission is 7:03 p.m. The SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket will carry NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov to perform science experiments on the ISS over several months.
The incoming SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will dock at the ISS for a couple of days so that the new crew can familiarize themselves with the space station.
Another SpaceX craft will then bring home the two stuck astronauts — Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — as well as NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The craft will not leave earlier than Wednesday.
Mr. Wilmore, 59, and Ms. Williams, 62, have been on the ISS since June. Though they were supposed to be in space for only a week, NASA thought there were too many issues with Boeing’s Starliner vehicle they used to reach space for them to return in it safely.
NASA officials decided to keep them at the space station so the facility would not be undermanned, even though a spacecraft was available for them to return.
Mr. Wilmore told The New York Times that the situation was “wonderful enjoyment. It’s been fun. It’s been trying at times, no doubt. But stranded? No. Stuck? No. Abandoned? No.”
The planned Wednesday launch was delayed because of issues with the clamp arm that helps hold the rocket. High winds and precipitation on Thursday delayed the mission again.
