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Because SpaceX’s next crew rotation mission to the International Space Station will use a new Dragon spacecraft that won’t be ready by a previously planned February launch date, NASA announced Tuesday that it has opted to delay the launch now until no earlier than late March.
What that means is an even longer stay for the two NASA astronauts who flew up last June to the ISS aboard Boeing’s beleaguered Starliner spacecraft. They launched on the first crewed mission of Starliner on June 5 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V, arriving at the ISS one day later for what was supposed to be as short as an eight-day stay.
Because of concerns with Starliner’s thrusters and helium leaks on its propulsion module, NASA elected to play it safe and keep Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board the ISS while sending Starliner home without a crew.
Their ride home is now set to be aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom, which flew up to the ISS and docked in September, but with only two crew on board instead of the normal four so that Williams and Wilmore would have a ride home.
That mission had been aiming for a flight home after Crew-10’s arrival in late February.
NASA, though, announced Crew-10 won’t launch until late March now with its replacement crew, which gives SpaceX and NASA time to get the new Dragon spacecraft, which has yet to be named, ready for the mission. It’s expected to arrive in Florida in early January.
“Fabrication, assembly, testing, and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavor that requires great attention to detail,” said NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich. “We appreciate the hard work by the SpaceX team to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions and the flexibility of the station program and expedition crews as we work together to complete the new capsule’s readiness for flight.”
