WASHINGTON: A pair of US astronauts caught for greater than 9 months on the Worldwide Area Station will probably be returned to Earth on Tuesday (Mar 18) night, NASA stated.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are to be transported house with one other American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft, after a alternative crew arrived on the ISS early on Sunday.
The stranded duo have been on the ISS since June after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they have been testing on its maiden crewed voyage suffered propulsion points and was deemed unfit to fly them again to Earth.
NASA stated in a press release on Sunday night that it had moved ahead the astronauts’ anticipated ocean splashdown off the Florida coast to roughly 5.57pm on Tuesday (Wednesday, 5.57am, Singapore time). It was initially slated for no prior to Wednesday.
“The up to date return goal continues to permit the area station crew members time to finish handover duties whereas offering operational flexibility forward of much less favorable climate circumstances anticipated for later within the week,” the area company stated.