SpaceX has just accomplished an amazing feat; it has launched an epic rescue to rescue two astronauts left aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The SpaceX Dragon capsule reached the ISS and is now docked to transport two astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams away from the ISS who have been staying there more than they originally thought they would.
How Did They Get Stuck?
Wilmore and Williams intended to travel to the ISS in June on Boeing’s new Starliner for what was expected to have been an eight day mission. C However, as it can be expected for new technologies, something went wrong. Starliner had some technical issues such as helium leak, and malfunction of the thrusters. These issues were not mere inconveniences – they were severe enough to deny the Starliner a chance to do a return trip.
NASA and Boeing engineers worked to understand the problems for several months but by August, NASA deemed it too unsafe for Wilmore and Williams to travel back to earth using the Starliner. And, therefore, we had astronauts on the ISS, orbiting the Earth, and waiting to come back home.
SpaceX to the Rescue!
And that’s exactly where SpaceX comes into the act – the reliable interstellar taxi service. Launch from Earth was observed at Cape Canaveral, Florida and the astronauts included NASA’s Nick Hague and Russian’s Alexander Gorbunov, cosmonauts. Their mission? Rescue the stranded astronauts and spend some time with the rest in the ISS before becoming a return astronaut. After a slight delay caused by Hurricane Helene, the Dragon capsule successfully docked at the ISS at 17:30 Eastern Time.
It was docked at 265 miles above Botswana when the docking happened The Russian segment of the station was filled with happy crew members, waving and posing for the cameras as Hague and Gorbunov entered the ISS.
Why SpaceX Is a Big Deal
This mission is not just the next space exploration — it is a historical step for SpaceX, the space exploration company owned by Elon Musk. NASA has been using Russian Soyuz spacecraft to service the ISS after it retired its space shuttle in 2011. However, NASA has been planning in having the American companies assuming this crucial task. To this end, in 2014, NASA provided Boeing with $4.2 bn contract and SpaceX — $2.6 bn contract.
In the case of Boeing, there has been a sequence of several delays and setbacks regarding the Starliner, yet SpaceX for instance has been progressing. Hear, SpaceX is the first of its group to achieve the feat of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station ISS in 2020. Thus, with this latest mission, SpaceX shows once more that it is a reliable actor in the space game.
What’s Next?
So, what happens now? Wilmore and Williams are expected to land on Earth in February in a SpaceX Dragon pod. Until then they will remain working on the ISS and Hague and Gorbunov will get accustomed with the rest of the station members.
Such mission is just one of the fascinating opportunities that are opening in the field of space travel. While SpaceX keeps proving itself, and Boeing ironing out its kinks, it soon becomes evident that space travel’s future looks to be in good stead. As both corporations seek to advance people to deeper space – who knows – maybe the next SpaceX car will be to pick someone up from Mars! For now, though, SpaceX has come out as the ultimate space taxi service provider, coming to the rescue (and our astronauts) like superheroes.
