The return flight room capsule for the two US astronauts stuck in the international space station since June is on the way. The “Crew Dragon” of the private space company SpaceX from Tech-Milliardär Elon Musk started from the Cape Canaveral space station in the US state of Florida, as live images from the US room trip authority NASA showed.
On board is the so-called “Crew 10” consisting of the US astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers as well as the Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and the Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskow. The start was originally planned for Wednesday, but had to be postponed on the ground due to a hydraulic problem. The problem could be solved later.
The “Crew 10” should replace the “Crew 9”
The “Crew 10” is expected about 400 kilometers above earth on the night of Sunday on Sunday and is supposed to replace the “Crew 9” there – US astronaut Sun Williams, her colleagues Barry Wilmore and Nick Hague as well as the Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunow. After a few days together on board the ISS, the “Crew 9” should then return to Earth, while the “Crew 10” should stay in space until autumn.
Hague and Gorbunow have been on board the ISS – Williams and Wilmore since the end of September since June. Actually, they should only stay around a week. However, due to technical problems with its “Starliner” spaceship, NASA decided to bring the breakdown spaceship back to earth in September. The planned week became almost ten months in space for the two experienced astronauts, which had previously been on the ISS several times.
