After spending nine months in space, the two NASA astronauts are expected to return to the earth soon.
On Tuesday morning, Sunita will leave the International Space Station (ISS) to Williams and Barry Wilmor, and in the evening the shores of Florida. Boeing’s starliner, had their original return spacecraft Considered insecure To travel home, astronauts were forced to stay in the space for longer than planning.
You need to know about their extended stay and the much -awaited return:
Who are the two astronauts trapped in the space?
Two astronauts Stuck on the board The International Space Station (ISS) 59-year-old Sunita “Sunny” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmor (61) are both NASA-trained leisure travelers.
ISS’s current commander and retired US Navy officer Williams joined NASA in 1998. In her career, she spent 2 days in space and finished nine spacewalks. Earlier, she had recorded the highest spacewalk record by a female astronaut up to 2 until, when the title went to Pegie Whitson, who completed 10.
Wilmor flights the first place in the space shuttle Atlantis in 3 in. He was logged in in space 178 days before the Boing Starlinner Mission. He has served as a flight engineer and commander in the previous ISS mission, researching the growth of plants in space, the effects of microorganisms on the human body and environmental changes on the earth.
In the Boeing mission, Wilmor worked as a commander and the Williams was a pilot.
When and how do they come to earth?
After his transfer to the space station on Sunday, Wilmor and Williams on Tuesday (04:45 GMT) AT.
They will return to the SpaceX crew dragon capsule, which has been docked at the station since September 2024. This Capsule originally brought NASA astronauts Nick Heg and Russian astronaut Alexander Gorbunov ISS, there are two vacancies for the return of Wilmore and Williams.
Additional employees with the other four astronauts .They could not return to the same capsule until they came to replace them.
That has happened now. The Crew -10 docked at the ISS at EST (04:04 GMT) at 12:40 pm on Sunday includes NASA astronaut Annie McClen and Nicole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and Russian astronaut Kiril Peskov. He started on Friday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
The process of returning late on Monday night, Williams and Wilmore began. Preparation for the hatch ban began at 10:45 at ET (02:45 GMT).
NASA directly flowing directly on the departure and return of astronauts. According to NASA, the crew dragon capsule that will bring them back from ISS 1 :: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 45: 6 AT (22:00 GMT) in the evening.
Why did they get stuck?
Williams and Wilmore then stuck after Technical problem The spacecraft had to bring them home.
He had traveled to ISS at Boeing’s CST -100 Starlinner as part of the first crew test flight. The purpose of this campaign under NASA’s professional crew program is to develop a private spacecraft to transport astronauts to the station and outside. Through the mission of the lower-ethnic room, NASA has said that the focus on deep space exploration, with the Artemis mission of the moon and the future human mission in Mars.
During the 25 -hour flight to ISS, the starlerin experienced helium leakage and a breakdown thrustr, which helps the steer and control rentry. When they arrived on June 6, four more of the 28 thrustlers failed and docking was delayed at the station.
Although engineers have restored four of the five failed thrustrs, NASA also considered a distance for human travel, and They sent back emptyWilliams and Wilmore left.
In August 2024, NASA Decided to bring Them back to the spacex vehicle. The Crew Dragon -9, which started on September September September, 224, has been docked in the ISS, but they have been brought home before, limiting research and emergency response, only one American astronaut would have left at the space station.
Now, their replacement members reached the crew -10, Williams and Wilmore can finally go home.
How long have been stuck in two astronauts?
Williams and Wilmore are in space on June 5, 2022, which means they may have spent more than nine months in the room until returning.
In June, after the explosion from the Cape Caenveral, Florida, he would originally stay in the space for only eight days.
The standard ISS rotation for astronauts is approximately six months.
How did they live in space for so long?
Despite the unexpected expansion of his stay, Williams and Wilmore remained in health and also organized a spacewalk together in January.
The board follows the structured routine with ISS exercise, work and relaxation. It includes regular routines on both the Trendmil and the Resistance Machine to maintain the strength of the bone and muscle.
Throughout the year, many space companies and private companies also planned a mission to regenerate space stations with regularly replenished food, water and oxygen through the cargo mission.
According to the Times newspaper in London, the two enjoyed a festive meal during Christmas, including smoked oysters, crabs, duck foi gras, cranberry sauce, Atlantic lobster and smoked salmon.
Williams and Wilmore have enabled to maintain contact with their families via email and telephone.
In an interview to the Lester Holt on the NBC Night News in November, Williams said that she and Wilmore were “feeling good, workout, eating properly”.
She continued, “We too have a lot of fun here. “People who are worried about us, really, don’t worry about us … we’re a happy driver’s force here.”
The astronauts first get stuck in space?
Williams and Wilmore are not the first astronauts to face expanded space in space due to unpredictable conditions. There have been some cases where astronomers have to stay in the classroom for longer than planning due to technical problems or geographical events.
The American astronauts were brought to the room with the longest single spaceflit, the 1 37 -day mission of Frank Rubio, from 1 to 223, Soyuz spacecraft. Finally he returned to a separate soyz capsule.
In 1999, 1999, the dissolution of the Soviet Union caught the Soviet astronaut Sergey Crickelev for 1 day at the Mir Space Station, which was now decided.
It was late for political confusion and lack of funding, and forced him to stay in the room for longer than planned. When they finally arrived in March 1992, they returned to the new independent Russia, not to the Soviet Union.