SpaceX Brings Home Astronauts After Boeing's Starliner Delays Extend ISS Mission 36
Four astronauts splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday after their record ISS mission stretched to eight months due to Boeing capsule malfunctions and hurricane disruptions. The SpaceX Dragon capsule landed off Florida's coast before dawn, carrying NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin.
Technical issues with Boeing's Starliner capsule in September, followed by Hurricane Milton and persistent rough seas, delayed their planned return by two months. The crew launched in March as part of NASA's commercial crew program. Their replacements include Boeing Starliner test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose mission expanded from eight days to eight months, alongside two SpaceX-launched astronauts. The new crew will remain aboard the station until February.
Technical issues with Boeing's Starliner capsule in September, followed by Hurricane Milton and persistent rough seas, delayed their planned return by two months. The crew launched in March as part of NASA's commercial crew program. Their replacements include Boeing Starliner test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose mission expanded from eight days to eight months, alongside two SpaceX-launched astronauts. The new crew will remain aboard the station until February.
excellent (Score:1)
I am always happy when space mishaps are successfully overcome by plan B.
Last time it was with Soyuz problem on orbit, which resulted in a plunge from orbit with all the crew safe.
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This return mission didn't overcome the Starliner 'mishap'. Those astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, are still on the ISS, and will be returned on another SpaceX mission in February 2025.
Crew-8 was always expected to return on the Crew-9 Dragon capsule, according to NASA data. Wilmore and Williams were expected to return aboard Starliner-1, but problems with that craft led to their being incorporated into the ISS crew until next February, to be returned on the SpaceX Dragon Crew-9.
Crew-9 launched
I heard Plan B costs a lot of money (Score:2)
But some political candidates are promising to heavily subsidize its purchase.
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i thought florida banned plan B? i am gladd they are rethinking it.
Article was edited. (Score:5, Funny)
The two astronauts were overjoyed to be returning to Earth. Upon being told they would be returning to Florida, both astronauts attempted to exit the space stations through the airlock before being sedated with tranquilizer darts, strapped in the capsule and returned to Earth.
[ Click the video below to listen to the desperate pleas of both astronauts begging to be taken anywhere but Florida ]
[ Related News: New Jersey governor celebrates astronauts might have wanted to be taken to New Jersey instead of Florida. ]
It seemed odd that they removed such interesting stuff but whatever.
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Thanks so much for that - my wife and I are still laughing!
If it's Boeing, (Score:3)
we can't get it going!
First time for two U.S. ships in one trip? (Score:3)
I think this might be the first time astronauts ascended in one U.S. ship and returned in another. (Soyuz is Russian). Kinda cool to have a first like that one.
Re:First time for two U.S. ships in one trip? (Score:4, Interesting)
It isn't. There may be more examples, but Andrew Thomas launched on Endeavour (STS-89) and returned on Discovery (STS-91). There are also many instances of astronauts launching and landing on different flights of the same shuttle, and considering how extensively those things were rebuilt between missions, that could arguably also count.
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It isn't. There may be more examples, but Andrew Thomas launched on Endeavour (STS-89) and returned on Discovery (STS-91). There are also many instances of astronauts launching and landing on different flights of the same shuttle, and considering how extensively those things were rebuilt between missions, that could arguably also count.
Ah yes, thank you. All true, though I realize I was referring to the _type_ of ship. STS are all "Space Shuttles" even if they aren't the same shuttle.....
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I think this is the first time in history that the US has even had two different operational crewed spacecraft types at the same time. Not that Starliner is particularly operational, but you know what I mean. The closest they ever got before was when they were doing suborbital flights of the block 1 Apollo CSM while crewed Gemini missions were still launching. But there were nearly two years between Gemini 12 (the last crewed Gemini flight) and Apollo 7 (the first crewed Apollo flight).
Starliner Crew Still in Space (Score:5, Insightful)
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The one that looks like your SO is Butch.
Notice all the bad press around SpaceX, now? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Notice all the bad press around SpaceX, now? (Score:4, Insightful)
What are you talking about? I read positive stories about Space-X all the time - and my news sources are typically what MAGAZINE nitwits refer to as "leftist".
Competent news organizations are good about differentiating between Musk the person and his businesses.
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P.S. Thank you autocorrect.
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"Competent news organizations are good about differentiating between Musk the person and his businesses."
rational people are too.
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Notice all the bad press around SpaceX, now?
No. No I don't.
I mean... I've read plenty of articles in the last couple weeks and they were all positive. Stuff like this article, a bunch about the Superheavy catch mission - which was fricking astounding - and some stuff about Starlink asking about dropping some orbits to offer (much) better performance.
A few weeks ago there was some news that SpaceX was being fined for violating some launch regulations by changing facility details they weren't cleared to. There was also some news that SpaceX was
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No. No I don't.
I cannot hear you with all that sand pressed around your neck and covering your head.
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No. No I don't.
I cannot hear you with all that sand pressed around your neck and covering your head.
So, as usual, just... ignoring what doesn't suit your narrative as if doing so makes it legitimate. Gotcha. Repeating lies and fabrication doesn't make them true but go ahead, adhere to your alternative truths while you live in your alternative reality, because it sure as hell isn't the real reality.
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Re: Notice all the bad press around SpaceX, now? (Score:4)
The regime doesn't need to get involved. Half of America thinks Trump is an a**hole. Journalists write articles like "This a**hole is still being an a**hole, but this time he's inside a McDonald's".
When 150 million people think you're an a**hole, they are going to write unflattering articles and editorials. No conspiracy necessary!
Boeing living up to is reputation (Score:4, Funny)
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Or how to run a technological company by turning control thereof over to MBAs.
s/run/& to the ground/
Re:Boeing living up to is reputation (Score:5, Insightful)
To be fair, in the long run this ruins any company.
When starting a new company, typically it has a purpose and making money with it is critical but not that actual purpose.
When the MBAs take over, this relationship changes - they don't give a single shit about anything other than making money, and ironically with this new focus they gradually destroy the thing that makes the money.
Re:Boeing living up to is reputation (Score:4, Interesting)
Companies are usually started to make money. The concept of a corporation was invented in order to formally divide up risk and profit among multiple people fully expecting to make a return on their investment, and there isn't a whole lot of reason to do the paperwork to have one otherwise.
The "do something and worry about making money later" is mostly a more recent software industry thing, is just something the VCs tell the founders (the VCs absolutely want to make money) and it hasn't really worked out very well. The ramifications of that approach are probably why you think the MBAs destroy things: instead of offering goods and services at a fair price from the beginning they get everyone used to ridiculous loss leader prices, eventually run out of money and have to suddenly jack up prices and cut quality to make ends meet.
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Corporations are usually started to make money by doing a specific thing.
MBAs don't care about the specific thing, which is why things fall apart.
Re: Boeing living up to is reputation (Score:2)
Moreover they are designed to make money by continuing doing that thing, while the MBAs just want it to make money for a little while in any possible way so they can get their piece of it and then go on to fuck the next corpse
I had no doubt they could do it (Score:2)
Speaking of which, a bunch of "patriots" talked shit about Musk for doing the rocket catch and not a damn thing about the stranded astronauts. Remember the government actually sidelined him and he wasn't allowed even in the EV summit let alone space program. But when 4 astronauts are stranded that long, the WH didn't have a choice. They had no options to bring the peop
The new crew will remain aboard ... until February (Score:2)
Why even mention Starliner? (Score:3)
Crew 8 went up on Dragon, was always expected to come back on Dragon. This has nothing to do with Starliner or Butch and Suni.
There was a delay in the Crew 9 launch. Period.