NASA and SpaceX have agreed to change plans for the upcoming Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), opting to reuse the Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance instead of a newly constructed capsule. This decision aims to avoid further delays in the launch schedule.
Crew Dragon Endurance Reassigned
The Endurance spacecraft, which previously served the Crew-3, Crew-5, and Crew-7 missions, was originally allocated for the Ax-4 private astronaut mission by Axiom Space. However, due to setbacks in the completion of a new Crew Dragon, NASA decided to repurpose Endurance for Crew-10.
Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, emphasized the adaptive approach required for human spaceflight, stating, “Human spaceflight is full of unexpected challenges. We greatly benefit from SpaceX’s proactive efforts, ensuring another spacecraft is ready for our mission needs.”
Accelerated Launch Timeline
With this change, NASA has accelerated the Crew-10 launch to no earlier than March 12, moving it up from late March. The return of Crew-9, currently aboard the ISS, will follow a few days after Crew-10’s arrival.
Originally, NASA aimed to launch Crew-10 in February, but delays in the new Crew Dragon’s assembly and testing pushed the timeline to late March. Despite the reassignment of Endurance, Crew-10’s launch still falls later than initially planned.
Extended Stay of Crew-9
Crew-9’s roster includes NASA astronaut Nick Hague, Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, and NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore. Hague and Gorbunov arrived aboard Crew Dragon in September, while Williams and Wilmore joined in June during the CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test mission. When Starliner departed in September due to thruster issues, Williams and Wilmore remained on the ISS. To accommodate them, NASA launched Crew-9 with a reduced crew of two.
Political Controversy
The extended stay of Williams and Wilmore on the ISS sparked political discussions. On January 28, Elon Musk claimed on his social media platform X that former President Trump had directed him to expedite their return, criticizing the Biden administration for leaving them on the station for so long. Trump later echoed this sentiment on Truth Social, alleging the astronauts were “abandoned in space.”
NASA responded the following day, reaffirming its existing plans to safely return Crew-9 and prepare for Crew-10’s launch. In a CBS News interview on February 7, Suni Williams dismissed the notion of being “virtually abandoned,” stating, “We’ve got food, clothes, and a ride home if needed.”
Crew Assignments and Future Missions
The Crew-10 mission will proceed with its original team: NASA astronaut Anne McClain as commander, NASA’s Nichole Ayers as pilot, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov as mission specialists.
Meanwhile, the Ax-4 mission, now assigned the new Crew Dragon capsule, faces potential scheduling changes. Initially planned for April, the mission will feature former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson as commander, joined by Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, Polish astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu. The mission entails a two-week stay at the ISS.
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