Posted on 03/15/2025 6:55:02 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
After being postponed, NASA's SpaceX crew10 had a successful launch Friday night.
Needham native Sunita Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore have spent nine months in space after originally being scheduled for an eight-day mission.
People in Needham are crossing their fingers that everything runs smoothly. Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore spent nine months in space after launching for what was scheduled as an eight-day mission.
Friday night's mission was a go as four astronauts onboard a SpaceX rocket that blasted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. They're expected to arrive at the International Space Station sometime Saturday. There will be a change of hands so Williams and Wilmore can finally hitch a ride home.
The pair has been at the ISS since June after riding up in the Boeing Starliner during a test flight. But a problem with the spacecraft forced them to remain there.
Four astronauts will make the trip back home. The two others have been at the ISS for about six months.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcboston.com ...
I sure hope it goes as planned.
From Fox News:
The crew of four geared up in the “suit-up room” amid photos of the Apollo crew, before driving to the launchpad in multiple Teslas adorned with “LIF10FF” license plates — an ode to the mission number.
Each astronaut received a medical check before being briefed by SpaceX and NASA. Later, they partook in various traditions, including a card game to eliminate any bad luck.
[SNIP]
SpaceX launched its Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket just after 7 p.m. from the U.S. space agency’s Kennedy Space Center, in collaboration with NASA.
Commander Anne McClain, pilot Nichole Ayers, mission specialist Takuya Onishi, and mission specialist Kirill Peskov will replace SpaceX’s Crew-9, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksanr Gorbuno, who arrived in space in late September.
They also aim to rescue Wilmore and Williams — who were only slated to be at the ISS for about a week in June before an issue emerged with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which returned to Earth unmanned in September.
Hague, Wilmore and Williams have completed more than 900 hours of research during their time on the ISS, NASA announced late last week.
A two-day “handover period” will take place with Crew-10 before Wilmore, Williams, Hague and Gorbunov leave the ISS, NASA reported. Crew-10 and Dragon are expected to reach the ISS around 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
They will return to Earth, in another SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, as soon as Sunday, according to officials.
https://plus.nasa.gov/scheduled-video/nasas-spacex-crew-10-rendezvous-and-docking/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL1LuAqZjwQ
They should send up a spanish speaking cleaning crew.
I understand the Dragon’s head is out of service. Break out the soda pop bottles!!
After all that time in space, those two astronauts are going to be as weak as kittens.
Amen.
The card game is called “Possum Fargo” and must be played in a circle in flight suits and without helmets. Has been done since the early space shuttles. As with Bushwood (and FR) no gambling is allowed in the game.
Working on scheduling a Nilgai hunt down near there this spring. Boca Chica is not open during launches, but it is a really cool place to camp.
So do I.
Approach Elipsoid initiation at 21:35:00 Central Time
Prayers for a safe return of astronauts. And God bless Elon too.
I honestly would lose my mind if I was stuck in space like that
I hope elon pulls it off
Let’s not forget all the condescending articles from NASA and the gaslight media, “No, the astronauts aren’t stranded in space...”
Headline is technically incorrect. This mission isn’t “rescuing” anyone; it’s providing the replacement crew so that Butch, Suni, and the other two members of Crew 9 can fly the Crew 9 ship home.
Not one word in the article about the astronauts being stranded there because Joe Biden didn’t want to make Elon, and President Trump look good.
Will be watching.
We're running out of Saturday. What's the ETA? Somebody has to know.
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