CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A launch pad problem prompted SpaceX to delay a flight to the International Space Station on Wednesday to replace NASA’s two stuck astronauts.
The new crew needs to get to the International Space Station before Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can head home after nine months in orbit.
Concerns over a critical hydraulic system arose less than four hours before the Falcon rocket’s planned evening liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. As the countdown clocks ticked down, engineers evaluated the hydraulics used to release one of the two arms clamping the rocket to its support structure. This structure needs to tilt back right before liftoff.
Yet again with the media, the astronauts aren’t stuck on ISS. It is blatantly false to headline such. Haven’t been since ehhh was it November. They have a perfectly working lifeboat capsule with seats. They could return any moment now should it be deemed necessary.
Their mission profile got changed. They are now part of the next expedition crew and as such their normal schedule return depends on, when replacement expedition arrives to maintain continuity of expeditions. Couple other astronauts expeditions slots got bumped to make this happen.
These are professional astronauts. Being part of expedition crews is pinnacle achievement of one’s career. Not to mention with both of them given their age and time already in space, this is their last space mission. I doubt they much mind their last mission is instead of week long test flight of a new capsule, an 8 month long long stay space station expedition. Ending ones in space career in style with a long stay expedition doing experiments and studies on ISS.