Nasa's Wilmore, Williams return to Earth faces another delay

Return of Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams to Earth has faced another setback as Nasa says that the astronauts stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) will have to wait “even longer” to get home.

The two astronauts blasted into space in June and were supposed to remain there for an eight-day mission but their stay was extended to February next year because of technical issues their spacecraft, Starliner built by Boeing, faced, according to BBC. 

Wilmore and Williams won’t be back until late March or possibly April following a delay in launching a new capsule to the ISS.

According to Nasa, a new crew needs to launch before the pair’s return and the next mission has faced a delay of more than a month.

The crew of four for the ISS was supposed to be launched by Nasa by February 2025 and the mission capsule was due to bring Wilmore and Williams home as well as astronauts Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov for the normal crew rotations.

The delay comes from SpaceX in preparing a brand-new Dragon capsule for the mission that is now scheduled to be deemed for flight readiness no earlier than late March.

The space agency said a different SpaceX capsule was considered for the mission to keep the flights on schedule but it has decided to wait for the new spacecraft to be made.

Nasa also assured that the delay posed no risk to the astronauts.

"The International Space Station recently received two resupply flights in November and is well-stocked with everything the crew needs, including food, water, clothing, and oxygen. The resupply spacecraft also carried special items for the crew to celebrate the holidays aboard the orbital platform,” Nasa said.