Space/ Science and Technology
Stay or Stuck? Why did it take so long to return? Sent by Boeing, Rescued by SpaceX???
In 2011, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program [CCP] entered into agreements with two private firms, SpaceX and Boeing, to develop a spacecraft and send humans to the International Space Station [ISS].
In 2020, SpaceX became the first private sector to successfully send humans to space with their spacecraft named “Crew Dragon”.
Later, on June 5, 2024, Boeing launched Sunita Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore to ISS with their spacecraft named “Starliner” marking their first foray into manned spaceflight. At first, the mission was only scheduled to last eight days as a test flight with Sunita Williams being the first ever woman pilot to lead a spacecraft.
Although there were problems during the launch and docking, on June 6, 2024, they were able to safely dock the spacecraft with the International Space Station [ISS]. NASA extended the mission after learning of multiple issues in the systems.
In August 2024, NASA determined that it would be unsafe for astronauts to return with the same Starliner spacecraft, so NASA rescheduled the return and began collaborating with Boeing to resolve the issues while astronauts continued to work on various tasks on the International Space Station [ISS].
Aware of the delay, NASA coordinated with SpaceX to facilitate the return with their spacecraft “Crew Dragon” and finally, after 286 days (originally planned for eight days) on March 18, 2025, with the whole world watching, Dragon splashed down on the Gulf of Mexico with Sunita Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore being safely returned to HOME!
One thought on “Sunita Williams returns home! From an 8-day Mission to 9-month stay: Know the truth about what really happened!”