With the eyes of the world fixed on NASA and Space-X collaborated launch of Crew-10, anticipation builds for the conclusion to the most dramatic episode in space missions. After being stranded for nine months on International Space Station, NASA’s veteran astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore are set off to make their way back to Earth.
In June 2024, the two veteran astronauts left for ISS on a Boing Starliner mission that was scheduled to last for eight days; however, owing to technical spacecraft issues, thruster failures, and helium leaks, Starliner was declared unsafe for the astronauts to return. The Starliner spacecraft was designed for missions to low-Earth orbit and provide service missions to NASA. Unfortunately, the technical failure raised questions about its weldless structure and reusable capability that left the astronauts stranded on ISS for an unexpected period.
On March 11, 2025, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s launch pad Complex 39A was seen loaded with SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Dragon spacecraft for Crew-10 launch. However, again due to hydraulic system issue with a ground support clamp arm the mission was suspended for three days.
NASA has finally announced that Crew 10 is finally set to launch on 14 March at 7:03 PM ET to repatriate stranded astronauts. The Crew 10 mission will also facilitate the rotation of ISS crew members, brining NASA astronauts Anne McClain, commander, and Nichole Ayers, pilot, along with mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov to the station for next few months. However, Williams and Wilmore will return on March 19, 2025.
History of Stranded Astronauts
This is not for the first time that astronouts have been stranded on space. Astronauts have faced extended stays in space on multiple occasions due to unforeseen challenges. For instance, in 1996, NASA astronaut Shannon Lucid’s planned four-month mission on the Russian space station Mir was extended to six months due to delays in shuttle launches. Originally scheduled for 140 days, her mission stretched to 188 days, setting a record for the longest spaceflight by a woman at the time.
On February 1, 2003, the Expedition 6 crew—Ken Bowersox, Nikolai Budarin, and Don Pettit—were midway through a four-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry. This tragedy grounded the shuttle fleet, stranding the crew on the ISS until their return in May 2003.
More recently, in 2019, astronaut Christina Koch’s planned six-month stay on the ISS was extended to 11 months, breaking the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. While the world is counting down on the Crew-10 launch and the repatriation of Williams and Wilmore, how they will return remains to be seen—and whether any further delays could arise.
