Crew-10 Mission Delayed: Sunita Williams to Stay on ISS Until March

Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams, initially scheduled for a week-long mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), is now expected to remain there until March next year due to technical issues delaying her return.

Sunita Williams, along with astronaut Butch Wilmore, traveled to the ISS on June 6, 2024, aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule for an eight-day mission. They were supposed to return to Earth on June 14. However, a helium leak in the Starliner forced the spacecraft to return empty, leaving the astronauts stranded on the ISS since then.

To ensure their safe return, NASA launched SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, which docked with the ISS in September 2024. The spacecraft has four seats, two of which were reserved for Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, while astronauts Hague and Gorbunov were sent on the mission. The Crew-9 mission is scheduled to return to Earth in February 2025.

However, the Crew-10 mission, intended to relieve Crew-9, is now unlikely to launch before March 2025. This delay means Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will have to remain on the ISS until then, extending their stay far beyond the original mission timeline.