September 29, 2024 08:16 IST Follow Us SpaceX launches Crew-9 mission to rescue NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore after starliner delays. (Image: Representative image from Getty) NASA astronaut Sunita Williams is set to return to Earth after SpaceX launched a rescue mission on Saturday, September 28, to bring her and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore back from the International Space Station (ISS). Their return had been delayed due to complications with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The SpaceX Crew Dragon mission, known as Crew-9, is a routine flight. Aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, which launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex-40, are astronauts Nick Hague, the mission commander and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. This mission marks the first human spaceflight from this particular launch complex. Williams and Wilmore were originally scheduled for an eight-day mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner in June. However, issues with the spacecraft’s thrusters and helium leaks forced NASA to delay their return, ultimately deeming it unsafe. The Starliner capsule returned to Earth earlier this month without the crew, leaving Williams and Wilmore at the ISS. Also Read Samsung slashes prices: Galaxy S23 FE at Rs 27,999, S23 at Rs 37,999, S24 Ultra at Rs 1,09,999, and more Anil Ambani led Reliance Infra zooms 12% after board approves Rs 3000 cr fund raising via QIP Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah death protests erupt in Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti cancels election campaign Earth to get temporary ‘mini-moon’ from September 29 to November 25 – Here’s how and where to see the second moon To bring them home, SpaceX launched a special mission, leaving two empty seats on the return leg for the stranded astronauts. NASA adjusted the flight roster by removing two astronauts from the Crew Dragon mission to accommodate Williams and Wilmore’s return, now planned for late February. By then, the pair will have spent over eight months in space. Meanwhile, Boeing continues to address the technical problems with Starliner, which safely landed in New Mexico and has since been transported back to Kennedy Space Center. TOPICS