SpaceX and NASA have launched an important mission, bringing back American astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station (ISS). They were stranded in the ISS for the last nine months.
SpaceX-NASA Mission launch and time
The launch took place on Friday at 7:03 am Eastern time. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sent the Dragon spacecraft into space, which is part of the Crew-10 mission. Under this mission, four new astronauts were also sent to the ISS.
Team of new astronauts
The astronauts leaving for the ISS in this mission include NASA’s Anne McClain and Nicole Ayers, Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
Features of Crew-10 MissionCrew-10 mission is the 10th crew change mission under SpaceX’s Human Space Transportation System. It is also the 11th mission to send crew to the ISS under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, including the Demo-2 test flight.
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s stranded story
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore arrived at the ISS in June 2024 and were supposed to stay there for only a week. However, their return was not possible due to technical problems and other reasons, leaving them stranded in the space station for nine months.
Message of US Defense Secretary before launch
Before the launch of this important mission, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expressed support for SpaceX Crew-10 through a video message. He posted a video on the social media platform ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), in which he said, “We are praying for your success. We are waiting for your safe return home.”
He also said that President Donald Trump urged Elon Musk to, “bring the astronauts home and bring them back immediately.” Hegseth further said, “SpaceX and NASA are fully dedicated to making this mission a success. They are bringing back two experienced US Navy captains – Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams.”
SpaceX and NASA collaboration
SpaceX and NASA have been collaborating in space exploration for a long time. Under the Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX has been continuously carrying out missions to send and bring crews to the ISS. This time the mission was particularly important because two astronauts were stranded in the ISS for longer than expected.
Mission challenges and future plans
NASA and SpaceX faced many technical challenges to ensure the safe return of astronauts from the ISS. According to NASA officials, the mission was complex from a technical and scientific point of view, but it was successfully carried out keeping in mind all the safety protocols.
With this mission, NASA and SpaceX are planning even more safe and effective human space travel missions in the future. Their goal is to make the process of going to and returning from space more seamless and reliable.
Conclusion
This joint mission of SpaceX and NASA has not only succeeded in bringing the stranded astronauts back home, but has also proved that space agencies are constantly working to make human space travel safe and effective. This mission will prove to be another important milestone in the history of human space travel. source ANINEWS
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