NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson were scheduled to travel to the International Space Station as part of the SpaceX Crew-9. But due to malfunctions of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, they had to give way to colleagues Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams.
Wilmore and Williams, who have been on the ISS since June, were supposed to return on the Starliner, but the return was postponed due to technical problems with the spacecraft, keeping the astronauts in orbit until February 2025. Thus, the failure of the Boeing mission left Cardman and Wilson without a flight.
It was hard for Zena and Stephanie to watch the flight of their co-workers on the Crew-9 mission aboard, as space travel is a rare opportunity, even for astronauts. However, Wilson noted that they are happy for their colleagues and look forward to hearing their stories about their time on the ISS.
“It was hard not to watch that rocket lift off without thinking, ‘That’s my rocket and that’s my crew,” Cardman admitted during the Crew-9 launch broadcast. Despite this, they supported their colleagues and took an active part in the preparation.
Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov took their seats aboard Crew Dragon. This is the third mission to the ISS for Hague, while for Gorbunov, it is his first flight. Cardman hasn’t flown in space yet, while Wilson has had three Shuttle flights between 2006 and 2010.
To balance the Crew Dragon capsule, Cardman and Wilson’s seats were replaced with ballast. Cardman praised NASA for prioritizing crew safety and noted that Wilmore and Williams are skilled professionals.
In late August, NASA decided to remove Cardman and Wilson from the flight due to technical problems with the Starliner. During the following weeks, they helped their colleagues in preparation for the flight. NASA Chief Astronaut Joe Acaba emphasized that Zena and Stephanie are an example of professionalism despite the unfortunate circumstances.
Earlier we reported on how astronauts stranded on the ISS would be able to vote in the US presidential election.
According to mashable.com
