Trapped astronauts in space will be rescued by Elon Musk’s rocket

Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams They already have a ticket back to Earth, after two and a half months of staying. Stuck on the International Space Station (ISS)As NASA explained, the astronauts will return February 2025 in Space Xa company owned by businessman Elon Musk.

This was confirmed, with a serious look, by the director of the US space agency, Bill NelsonWho held a press conference today, Saturday.

NASA has decided that Butch and Sonny will return with their crew in February, and Starliner will return without a crew.

The two American astronauts were scheduled to return to Earth in mid-June, just over a week after their Starliner spacecraft launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. But Payment system problems –5 out of 28 defenses failed– I am absent-minded, my little one For the device, feature BoeingWilmore and Williams were banned from returning.

Humiliation for Boeing

NASA’s choice to rescue astronauts with a SpaceX spacecraft is a blow to Boeing, a competitor.Elon Musk In the aviation profession.

The US agency has contracts with Boeing, which operates the Starliner, and SpaceX, which is responsible for Crew Dragon, to carry out the flights for the European Space Agency. While the former signed a $4.4 billion contract for six flights, the latter was paid $3.5 billion for nine flights. Musk rockets It’s cheaper and now in addition the chestnuts are taken out of the fire..

This will be a rescue operation.

After the Starliner problems, NASA considered two scenarios: either sending astronauts back on the same ship, after repairs, or sending Musk’s rocket to the rescue. If they chose the former, the idea was that they would fly back to Earth with the repaired device on September 2.

That possibility has been ruled out, and it will ultimately be the Space X mission that rescues Wilmore and Williams. They will be released on September 24. With a crew of two instead of four, to make room for the other twoAnd when they are together they will be added to this new planned mission. which lasts six monthsuntil February, when they will finally return home.