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Sunita Williams: Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams has been stuck in the International Space Station for a long time with her fellow astronauts. Now people are waiting for her return.
Recently NASA has announced that Sunita Williams will be brought back in 2025. The question here is why NASA is not bringing it back? How much will it cost to bring it back?
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore arrived at the space station on a Boeing aircraft in June 2024. Their return was repeatedly delayed due to a malfunction in the Boeing Starliner capsule.
According to NASA chief Bill Nelson, both astronauts will now have to return to Earth via SpaceX rocket. He said that since the Starliner's propulsion system is faulty, it is very dangerous to bring the astronauts back to Earth via this vehicle.
NASA has said that both astronauts are expected to return to Earth in February 2025. The SpaceX Crew Dragon will be launched next month as part of a regular astronaut orbital mission. Two of the four seats in this vehicle will be reserved for Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore.
According to one report, the orbital rockets will cost a lot more: $4.1 billion for Rocket Lab's Electron smallsat launcher, $67 million for a Falcon 9 launch, $350 million for the Delta IV Heavy and SLS.
Rocket Lab's Electron smallsat launcher costs US$7.5 million, a Falcon 9 launch costs US$67 million, a Delta IV Heavy costs US$350 million, and the SLS (Space Launch System) costs US$4.1 billion.
Currently, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stranded in space for 80 days. Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are former military test pilots and are very experienced. Both these astronauts were the first pilots to fly the Boeing Starliner.
They flew to the ISS on June 5 for 8 days, but have been stranded in space for the last 80 days due to a malfunction in the propulsion system of the Boeing aircraft. Both astronauts are facing many problems due to staying in space for such a long time.