At the urging of President Donald Trump, NASA, the US space agency, has brought forward the“Return of stranded American astronauts to the International Space Station”. But to American disappointment, the mission’s SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle got off to a bad start and was called off in the countdown to Monday night’s launch.
According to CNN plans, the crew of four astronauts aboard SpaceX’s manned“Dragon” spacecraft will lift off at 7:48 p.m. local time on the 12th to the International Space Station. But when the astronauts were seated inside the spacecraft and less than an hour before the scheduled launch, NASA announced the cancellation of the day’s launch activities, the reason is the launch mission“Falcon 9” rocket ground support arm hydraulic system failure. According to NASA previously announced plans, 12 launch plan canceled, the backup launch window were March 13 at 7:48 pm Eastern Time and March 14 at 7:03 pm. But NASA later announced that the mission would be delayed until no earlier than March 14. The launch attempt, scheduled for March 13, was called off because of strong winds and rain forecast for the spacecraft’s flight path. In addition, the launch team needed to resolve a problem with the hydraulic system of the Falcon 9 Ground Support Gripper prior to launch.
The launch has attracted attention because of its role in retrieving the two US astronauts who were stranded on the International Space Station. Last June, American astronauts Wilhemlms and Wilmore traveled to the international space station aboard Boeing’s“Starliner,” which was intended to stay in space for only about a week, but the“Starship” spacecraft in flight and docking with the International Space Station when the helium leak and propulsion system failure, and can not be resolved. In the end, NASA decided to let the starship return to Earth on its own, while the two American astronauts remained aboard the International Space Station to rendezvous and wait with the Crew-9 mission.
Two American astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (see China)
Traditionally, the international space station rotates astronauts on what is known as an“In-orbit swap,” in which a new crew arrives at the station and completes the transfer before the previous crew leaves, to ensure that successive crews can fully communicate about the International Space Station and provide better transition support for continued life and maintenance in space. So while a new manned Dragon spacecraft docked with the International Space Station on Sept. 30 last year, Wilmore and Wilhemlms couldn’t immediately get a ride home, instead, he and the two crew members will spend six months on board the International Space Station, waiting for a Crew-10 crew rotation aboard the Dragon spacecraft before heading home.
But in a surprise Dec. 17 announcement, NASA said the CREW-10 Dragon spacecraft, originally planned for a February 2025 CREW-10 mission, was brand new, more Time is needed to integrate and test the equipment, so its launch has also been pushed back by a month, to at least the end of March 2025. It also means the two U. S. astronauts stranded on the International Space Station will need to stay in space for about 10 months.
Public opinion in the United States was outraged, criticizing NASA for allowing its astronauts to be“Stranded in space.”. In particular, Wilhemlms and Wilmore’s age, especially the 59-year-old Wilhemlms in front of the camera significantly thin, so there are concerns about her physical state. Generally speaking, the weightless environment of space will lead to changes in the distribution of body fluids. Without the“Bondage” of gravity, body fluids will concentrate on the upper body, as a result, the astronauts’ faces looked puffy — the opposite of Wilhemlms’s. But NASA insists there is nothing wrong with the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, “All U.S. astronauts on the ISS are undergoing routine medical evaluation and are monitored by specialized flight surgeons. They are in good health.”
On taking office in January, President Donald Trump announced that he had asked SpaceX to retrieve Wilmore and Wilhemlms from the International Space Station as soon as possible. Then SpaceX said it would scrap plans to launch a new spacecraft and instead use a refurbished dragon to carry the Crew-10 mission, which could be launched about half a month earlier.
The delay has put SpaceX and its chief executive, Elon Musk, under pressure. SpaceX, previously known for pioneering high-efficiency space launches, has suffered a series of setbacks recently.