WASHINGTON: Two American astronauts who have been trapped on the International Space Station since June could return to Earth earlier in March than expected, NASA said Tuesday.
Veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were due to spend eight days on the International Space Station (ISS), but have been there for more than eight months after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft suffered propulsion problems.
The US space agency decided the Starliner would return home without its crew after carrying out weeks of intensive testing and announced in August that it was tasking Elon Musk’s SpaceX with bringing the crew home.
Musk, one of President Donald Trump’s closest advisers, committed to bringing them back to Earth “as soon as possible” at the end of January, with Republicans blaming Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden for the delay.
A SpaceX mission called Crew-9 saw two astronauts arrive at the ISS in September aboard a Dragon spacecraft, with two empty seats for Wilmore and Williams.
But their return was postponed when NASA announced that Crew-10 who was due to relieve them would not be blasting off until the end of March at the earliest.
The mission is now scheduled to launch on March 12 “pending mission readiness,” NASA announced Tuesday, explaining that the change was agreed with SpaceX after adjustments were made to the original plan.
Instead of using a brand new Dragon spacecraft that requires extra processing time, the Crew-10 mission will now use a previously flown one called Endurance.
The astronauts will return to Earth following a handover period of several days, the agency added.
In January, Wilmore and Williams said their spirits were still high, adding that they had plenty of food and were enjoying their time on the space station.
While their protracted stay is notable, it has not yet surpassed Frank Rubio’s record-breaking 371 days aboard the ISS, which he completed in 2023 after the Russian spacecraft designated for his return developed a coolant leak.
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Two astronauts stranded on space station to touch down early
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Two astronauts stranded on space station to touch down early
- Veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were due to spend eight days on the International Space Station
- But have been there for more than eight months after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft suffered propulsion problems
Zelensky holds ‘very substantive’ call with US envoys Witkoff and Kushner
KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday he and his negotiators who are discussing a US-led plan for Ukraine had a “very substantive and constructive” call with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
“Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” Zelensky said on Telegram as the third day of the talks were to be held in Florida.
“We agreed on the next steps and the format of the talks with America,” he added.
Zelensky, who was in Kyiv, joined the call with top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and Andriy Gnatov, the chief of staff of Kyiv’s armed forces, both of whom were in Miami for the talks with the US side.
The two Americans — Witkoff, who is US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, and Kushner, who is Trump’s son-in-law — had been meeting with Umerov and Gnatov since Thursday.
Trump’s team is trying to swiftly settle the conflict in Ukraine, which has run for nearly four years.
An initial US plan released two weeks ago was seen by Kyiv and its European allies as aligning too closely with many of Russia’s hard-line positions, and has since been revised.
Zelensky said the call with Witkoff and Kushner “focused on many aspects and quickly discussed key issues that could guarantee an end to the bloodshed and remove the threat of a third Russian invasion, as well as the threat of Russia failing to fulfil its promises, as has happened many times in the past.”
He said he was waiting a “detailed report” from Umerov and Gnatov.
“We cannot discuss everything over the phone, so we need to work in detail with the teams on ideas and proposals,” he added.
Zelensky said Ukraine’s approach to the negotiations was that “everything must be capable of working, every important thing for peace, security and reconstruction.”
French President Emmanuel Macon said on Saturday that he, Zelensky, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz would meet in London on Monday to “take stock” of the US-led negotiations.
“Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” Zelensky said on Telegram as the third day of the talks were to be held in Florida.
“We agreed on the next steps and the format of the talks with America,” he added.
Zelensky, who was in Kyiv, joined the call with top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and Andriy Gnatov, the chief of staff of Kyiv’s armed forces, both of whom were in Miami for the talks with the US side.
The two Americans — Witkoff, who is US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, and Kushner, who is Trump’s son-in-law — had been meeting with Umerov and Gnatov since Thursday.
Trump’s team is trying to swiftly settle the conflict in Ukraine, which has run for nearly four years.
An initial US plan released two weeks ago was seen by Kyiv and its European allies as aligning too closely with many of Russia’s hard-line positions, and has since been revised.
Zelensky said the call with Witkoff and Kushner “focused on many aspects and quickly discussed key issues that could guarantee an end to the bloodshed and remove the threat of a third Russian invasion, as well as the threat of Russia failing to fulfil its promises, as has happened many times in the past.”
He said he was waiting a “detailed report” from Umerov and Gnatov.
“We cannot discuss everything over the phone, so we need to work in detail with the teams on ideas and proposals,” he added.
Zelensky said Ukraine’s approach to the negotiations was that “everything must be capable of working, every important thing for peace, security and reconstruction.”
French President Emmanuel Macon said on Saturday that he, Zelensky, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz would meet in London on Monday to “take stock” of the US-led negotiations.
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