The capsule is carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, tasked with bringing back Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams. Initially, Wilmore and Williams were part of Boeing’s first astronaut flight, launched in June. However, the mission was cut short after a series of thruster malfunctions and helium leaks led NASA to deem Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft unsafe.
Due to NASA’s six-month rotation schedule for ISS crews, the new flight with two empty seats designated for Wilmore and Williams won’t return until late February. Officials stated that an earlier return using SpaceX’s capsule wasn’t feasible without disrupting other scheduled missions.
By the time Wilmore and Williams return, they will have spent over eight months in space, despite initially expecting just a week-long mission. Williams has since been promoted to commander of the space station, which will soon be back to its regular crew size of seven. Once Hague and Gorbunov arrive, four astronauts who have been aboard since March will depart in their own SpaceX capsule, their return having been delayed by Boeing’s technical setbacks.
