Nasa announced on Wednesday the delay of the Nasa-SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the ISS, which was intended to facilitate the return of two stranded astronauts- Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore.
The replacement crew must reach the space station before Wilmore and Williams can return to Earth following their nine-month orbital mission.
Engineers discovered issues with a vital hydraulic system less than four hours before the scheduled evening launch of the Falcon rocket from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center. During the countdown, technicians assessed the hydraulics responsible for releasing one of two arms securing the rocket to its support structure, which must retract just before lift-off.
“There was an issue with the hydraulic system on the ground side,” stated Nasa launch commentator Derrol Nail, adding that “everything was fine with the rocket and the spacecraft itself,” as reported by AFP.
The four astronauts, already secured in their capsule, waited for the final verdict, which arrived with under an hour left in the countdown. SpaceX called off the launch for the day. Whilst no immediate new launch date was announced, the company indicated the next attempt could occur as soon as Thursday night.
Upon reaching the space station, the multinational crew comprising American, Japanese and Russian members will take over from the two astronauts, who arrived in June. The two test pilots required an extended stay aboard the station after significant malfunctions occurred with Boeing’s new Starliner capsule during transit.
Nasa directed the Starliner to return unmanned after what was meant to be a week-long inaugural crewed mission, subsequently arranging for Wilmore and Williams to return via SpaceX.
Crew – 10’s journey to space and crew-9’s return
Nasa astronaut Anne McClain will lead Crew-10 as commander, whilst Nichole Ayers serves as pilot. The mission includes Takuya Onishi from the Japanese space agency JAXA and Kirill Peskov representing Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. For Ayers and Peskov, this marks their first space journey, whilst McClain and Onishi embark on their second mission.
Upon Crew-10’s arrival at the space station, the team will initiate procedures for Crew-9’s departure. The space station will briefly host both crews simultaneously. Approximately four days after Crew-10’s launch, Williams and Wilmore, accompanied by Nasa’s Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbunov who arrived with Crew-9, will board their vessel for the return journey.
Adverse weather conditions at the designated splashdown locations near Florida’s coast could potentially delay their stay.