Nasa makes room on SpaceX trip to return astronauts stuck in orbit
Nasa on Friday cut two astronauts from the next crew 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 launch in September onboard a SpaceX rocket for the orbiting laboratory. The duo will return with Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore in February. Nasa decided it was too risky for Williams and Wilmore to fly home in their Boeing Starliner capsule, marred by thruster troubles and helium leaks.
Bumped from the SpaceX flight: the Nasa astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson. Nasa said they could fly on future missions.
After the shuttles retired, the US relied on Russia to ferry crews to the space station until SpaceX began taking astronauts in 2020. The two countries have continued to trade seats. Next month, Nasa’s Don Pettit will be launching to the space station while Nasa’s Tracy Dyson will be returning to Earth on Russian capsules.
Nasa turned to private businesses a decade ago, wanting two competing US companies ferrying astronauts in the post-shuttle era.
