Delay Crew-10 Launch Schedule, Two NASA Astronauts Stuck On ISS For Up To 9 Months

The four astronauts for the Crew-10 mission (photo: X @Commercial_Crew)

NASA announced that it would delay the Crew-10 launch schedule. Supposedly, the mission was launched no later than February, but the schedule had to be pushed back to the end of March.

This delay occurred because NASA and SpaceX, the owner of the Dragon aircraft, still need to complete processing on the aircraft used for the mission. The latest Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to arrive in Florida in early January.

Steve Stich, NASA's Commercial Crew Program Manager, said that the development of new spacecraft requires very detailed attention. They need to make, assemble, test, and carry out final integration before using the ride.

"We appreciate the hard work of the SpaceX team to expand the Dragon fleet to support our mission and the flexibility of the station program and expedition crew as we work together to complete the readiness of new capsules to fly," said Stich.

After reviewing the readiness of the updated rides, NASA and SpaceX finally decided to postpone the Crew-10 launch schedule for more than a month. That way, NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA Astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos Kirill Peskov will continue to train until the launch schedule arrives.

This is bad news for Crew-9 members, especially NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore. The two astronauts were originally flown to the International Space Station (ISS) on a Starliner test mission belonging to Boeing.

After landing on the ISS, NASA and Boeing realized that Starliner planes had several problems, one of which was helium leakage. Although it did not cause major damage, the two astronauts were asked to stay on the ISS to reduce the risk of accidents.

Williams and Wilmore are scheduled to return with Crew-9 members so that the number of crew members for this mission is reduced. From what initially there were four astronauts, such as other expedition missions, reduced to two. This is done so that Williams and Wilmore can occupy an empty passenger seat on the Dragon plane.

Crew-9 members will return home after Crew-10 lands on the ISS. The delay in the scheduled launch of the Crew-10 mission has left Williams and Wilmore staying longer on the ISS. The two astronauts will spend up to nine months in the space laboratory.