NASA and SPACX have decided to replace the Crew-10 Space Dragon Space ship to the International Space Station (ISS), To avoid further delay in startup. Instead of a new ship will be used multiple Crew Dragon Endurance, which previously performed Crew-3 missions, Crew-5 і Crew-7.
Reasons for replacement
New Crew Dragon, who planned to use for the Crew-10 mission, was not ready because of delay in completion of assembly and testing. This made NASA resort to replacement. Endurance, which was prepared for AX-4 AXIOM SPACE private mission, Now used for the Crew-10 mission.
In connection with this decision, the launch of the CREW-10 has been moved to 12 March 2025 year (The closest possible date), And the CREW-9 crew is returned, which is currently on board the ISS, scheduled a few days after the new crew arrival. Previously launching CREW-10 was scheduled for February, and then postponed to the end of March.
CRWW-10 mission crew composition
Replacement of the ship did not affect the crew of the CREW-10 mission:
- Commander: NASA – Enn McClain.
- Pilot: NASA - Nicole Ayers.
- Mission specialists: Jaxa is a tacua?; Roscosmos - Kiril Peskov.
CREW-9 mission crew
Upon arrival Crew-10 on the ISS is planned to return the CREW-9 crew:
- NASA: Nick heigi.
- Roscosmos: Alexander Gorbunov.
- NASA: Sanita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who arrived at the ISS back in June 2024 the year on the CST-100 Starliner ship within the test mission.
Starliner has left the ISS in September 2024 year due to technical problems with engines, and Williams with Vilmore stayed at the station before the Crew-10 arrival. This solution has led to discussions, In particular, political nature.
Political reaction and situation on the ISS
At the end of January Ilon Musk on social networks stated, that President Donald Trump urged him to return Williams and Vilmore as soon as possible, by calling their long stay at the station “terrible”. Trump confirmed this in his statements, affirming, that the current administration “practically left astronauts in space”.
NASA in response refuted these statements, By confirming, that CREW-9 crew will take place according to plan and security remains a priority. Williams Sanita also stressed in an interview, not feeling “abandoned”, noting, that the crew has the necessary stocks and the opportunity to return to the ground in the event of an emergency.
Conclusions
Replacing Crew Dragon will reduce the CREW-10 mission delay and ensure your ISS continuity. Although the changes have affected the launch schedules, NASA and SPACX are working on that, To minimize the impact on further missions.
Source: https://spacenews.com/nasa-and-spacex-to-swap-crew-dragon-spacecraft-to-reduce-crew-10-delay/