NASA astronauts Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore will call Earth. And participate in a press conference aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in low Earth orbit, said the US space agency.
The space call is set for 2:15 p.m. EDT on Sept. 13 and will include a link to the newsroom at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The astronauts had lifted off aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5 for its first crewed flight and docked at the space station on June 6. It was then decided to return the Starliner to Earth without its crew. After over three months in space, the spacecraft landed safely in White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico on 6th September.
Both astronauts, Sunita Williams, and Butch Wilmore, had radioed flight controllers to express thanks to teams for support ahead of the uncrewed Starliner returning home. “You guys, it’s time to bring Calypso home. We have your backs, and you’ve got this. Bring her back to Earth, ” Williams said in the radio message, giving its nickname for the spacecraft.
Williams and Wilmore will remain on the space station for Expedition 71/72. Both will return to Earth in February of 2025 with the other two crew members aboard the SpaceX Dragon. Under the mission name of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9.
In a separate achievement, the crew of Polaris Dawn, an exclusive spaceflight by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, made history by pulling off the first-ever commercial spacewalk. Notably, wearing newly-designed SpaceX extravehicular activity suits, the crew started the roughly two-hour spacewalk at 3:12 a.m. EDT. Meanwhile, they were flying at 17,500 miles per hour in an elliptical orbit ranging from 190 to 700 km above Earth.
This marked a historic moment for the Polaris Program, which is working to help push the boundaries of human spaceflight. For the first time in history, the Polaris Dawn crew exposed four astronauts to the vacuum of space when they opened the hatch. Commander Jared Isaacman and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis departed the vehicle to test the mobility and thermal systems of the suit. As well as the Dragon mobility aid nicknamed “Skywalker”. They closed the hatch after re-entering the cabin.
Mission Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Anna Menon supported Isaacman and Gillis. During the operation, keeping a watchful eye on vital support systems. After closing the hatch, the crew re-pressurized the Dragon and confirmed the cabin’s oxygen and pressure levels.
Back at home, mission commander Isaacman, a billionaire who was financing the mission, reflected on his experience. “SpaceX, from up here, we all have so much to do, back at home. But from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.”
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson wished SpaceX and the crew of Polaris Dawn the best of luck. “Today’s success represents a giant leap forward, not only for the commercial space industry. But also NASA’s long-term objective to create a healthy U.S. space economy.”.
The Polaris Dawn mission aimed for a splashdown off Florida, but SpaceX has not yet announced the expected landing time.
ANI