1/8 | NASA astronauts undertake a trip back to Earth after nine months stranded in space. This image taken from a NASA video shows the Spacex capsule that transports NASA Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore astronauts before decoupling the International Space Station. – The Associated Press
The two astronauts of the POT stranded in space began on Tuesday the trip back to earth with Spacex To close a dramatic marathon mission that began with a failed Boeing test flight more than nine months ago.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams They said goodbye to the International Space Station “His home since the past spring,” starting aboard a Spacex capsule with two other astronauts. The ship decoupled at dawn and was aimed at being threatened on the coast of Florida in the afternoon, provided that the weather allows it.
They were expected to be out just a week or so after leaving in the new manned capsule Starliner of Boeing on June 5. However, so many problems arose on the road to the space station that NASA sent the empty starlliner back and transferred to the test pilots to Spacex, delaying their return until February. Then, the problems with the Spacex capsule added a month of delay.
The arrival of the relay crew on Sunday assumed that Wilmore and Williams could finally leave. NASA made them leave a little earlier, given the doubtful weather forecast for later this week. Travel next to Nick Haguefrom NASA, and the Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunovwho arrived aboard a Spacex capsule last fall with two empty seats reserved for the Starliner couple.
“We will miss them, but have a good trip back home”Said NASA Astronaut Anne McClain from the space station while the capsule moved away at 418 kilometers (260 miles) on the Pacific Ocean.
His situation captured the attention of the whole world, giving new meaning to the phrase “Trapped at work”. Although other astronauts have made longer space flights, none had to deal with such uncertainty or see how the duration of their mission expanded in that way.
Wilmore and Williams quickly went invited to be members of the orbital post crew, performing experiments, repairing equipment and even going out to space walks together. With 62 hours in nine space walks, Williams established a new record: the astronaut with more hours of space walks.
Both had been in the US before, so they knew their operation, and they updated their training at the station before taking off. Williams became the station commander three months after his arrival and held office until the beginning of this month.
His mission took an unexpected turn at the end of January when The President, Donald Trumphe asked the founder of Spacex, Elon Muskto accelerate his return and blamed the delay to the former president’s government Joe Biden. The new Spacex capsule for replacement crew was not yet ready to fly, so Spacex replaced it with one used, accelerating the calendar a few weeks.
Even in the midst of the political storm, Wilmore and Williams continued to keep calm in their public appearances from space, without blaming anyone and insisting that they supported NASA’s decisions from the beginning.
NASA hired Spacex and Boeing after the end of the ferry program, in order to have two American competitive companies to take astronauts to and from the space station until it is abandoned in 2030. By then, more than three decades will have been in space, and the plan is to replace it with stations privately operated so that NASA can focus on expeditions to the Moon and Mars.
Wilmore and Williams, both captains of the Navy retired, indicated that they did not mind spending more time in space – a prolonged deployment that reminded them of their days in the army. But they acknowledged that for their families it was difficult.