NASA, SpaceX to launch Crew-10 mission today to bring back Sunita Williams | 10 key updates

NASA and SpaceX are moving forward with plans to launch the Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station on Friday, March 14, at 7:03 p.m. EDT (2303 GMT), Reuters reported citing a blog post by the U.S. space agency on Thursday.

Here are the top ten updates:

1. NASA and SpaceX scrubbed Wednesday’s launch attempt of the agency’s Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station due to a “hydraulic system issue with a ground support clamp arm for the Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complex 39A” at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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2. The next available launch opportunity for the Crew-10 mission is no earlier than 7:26 p.m. EDT on Thursday, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, pending a review of the issue, as stated by NASA. Launch coverage will begin at 3:25 p.m. (local time) on NASA’s channels, with docking targeted for 11:30 p.m. (local time) on Friday, as reported by ANI.

3. A crew of four will head to the ISS onboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for a six-month stay. The mission is being launched to bring back Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita Williams, Fox News report.

4. “With a March 13 Crew-10 launch, the Crew-9 mission with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, would depart the space station no earlier than 9:05 a.m. Monday, March 17, pending weather at the splashdown locations off the coast of Florida,” the NASA said in a statement.

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5. “Crew-10 is the 10th crew rotation mission of SpaceX’s human space transportation system and its 11th flight with crew aboard, including the Demo-2 test flight, to the space station through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program,” it added.

6. Ahead of the scheduled launch on Wednesday, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth shared a video message to express support for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10, Fox News reported.

7. In a video posted on X, Hegseth stated, “I just want to take a brief moment to say we are praying for you.” He added, “We wish you Godspeed, and we look forward to welcoming you all home soon.”

8. “President Trump said to Elon Musk, ‘get the astronauts home and do it now’ – and they’re responding,” Hegseth said. “And they’re bringing NASA astronauts, [who] also happen to be retired US Navy Capt. Butch Wilmore and retired US Navy Capt. Suni Williams, home,” he added, according to the Fox News report.

9. Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams have been stranded on the ISS for nine months after reaching there in June last year. They were supposed to stay there for about a week.

10. The astronauts were originally transported to the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. However, the spacecraft returned to Earth unmanned in September after experiencing “helium leaks” and “issues with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters” while attempting to dock with the ISS, according to a Fox News report.

Also Read: ‘Will miss you’: Sunita Williams gets emotional during goodbye; when is she landing on Earth? NASA shares schedule

On March 7, Trump said that he has authorised Elon Musk to bring back American astronauts- Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore who have been stranded at the International Space station since June last year.

(With inputs from agencies)