NASA announced on Tuesday that it has replaced the astronaut capsule originally planned for the Crew-10 mission with a previously flown SpaceX Crew Dragon. This scheduling adjustment will allow Starliner astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to return to Earth sooner than anticipated.
The U.S. space agency also revealed that it is expediting the target launch and return dates for upcoming crew rotation missions to and from the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew-10 mission, initially set to launch on March 25, has now been rescheduled for March 12, pending mission readiness and the completion of NASA’s flight certification process.
According to NASA, the Crew-9 mission will return to Earth after completing a handover with the newly arrived Crew-10 team. The decision to use a previously flown Crew Dragon capsule, rather than a new one, was made due to production delays. The capsule selected for the mission is named ‘Endurance,’ and teams will now work on refurbishing and preparing it for flight. This includes assembling its trunk, loading propellants, and transporting it to SpaceX’s hangar at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will be integrated with the Falcon 9 rocket.
Williams and Wilmore traveled to the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule in June 2024. However, the spacecraft encountered multiple technical issues, including a helium leak. Since then, both astronauts have remained on the ISS, with Williams serving as the station’s commander. Their return is contingent on the arrival of the four-member Crew-10 team, which will ensure the station remains fully staffed.
Crew-10 consists of NASA astronauts Anne McClain (commander) and Nichole Ayers (pilot), JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi (mission specialist), and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov (mission specialist).
The decision to adjust Crew-10’s launch comes shortly after former U.S. President Donald Trump urged SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to bring Williams and Wilmore back to Earth “as soon as possible.” Despite Trump’s remarks, NASA had already been working on plans to return the astronauts and stated that it would do so “as soon as practical.” However, the agency did not explicitly link the Crew-10 capsule swap to expediting their return.
Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, acknowledged the unpredictable nature of human spaceflight, emphasizing the strong partnership between NASA and SpaceX. He praised SpaceX’s adaptability in responding to NASA’s evolving needs.
Once Crew-9 completes its tasks of assisting Crew-10 with ongoing scientific experiments and station maintenance, NASA and SpaceX will proceed with the return of astronauts Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Their return will depend on weather conditions at splashdown sites off the coast of Florida.
