Nasa On Friday, two astronauts from the following crew were cut to make room on the return trip for the two stuck on the International Space Station.
Nasa’s Nick Hague and the Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will in September aboard a SpaceX rocket for the orbiting laboratory. The duo will return in February with Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore. Nasa decided it was too risky for Williams and Wilmore to fly home in their Boeing Starliner capsule, plagued by thruster problems and helium leaks.
Bumped from the SpaceX flight: Nasa astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson. Nasa said they could fly on future missions.
The space agency said it took into account spaceflight experience and other factors in making the decision.
After the shuttles were retired, the US relied on Russia to transport crews to the space station until SpaceX began taking astronauts in 2020. The two countries continued to trade seats. Next month, Nasa’s Don Pettit will launch to the space station while Nasa’s Tracy Dyson will return to Earth on Russian capsules.
Nasa turned to private businesses a decade ago, wanting two competing American companies to carry astronauts into the post-shuttle era.
Williams and Wilmore were Boeing’s first crew to arrive at the space station in June for what was supposed to be a weeklong stay. Their capsule will return empty as early as next Friday, with a view to landing in the New Mexico desert.
