Two astronauts stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for more than nine months are expected to return safely to Earth with the assistance of Elon Musk's SpaceX, former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao said Saturday on Newsmax's "America Right Now."
A replacement crew for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Friday, paving the way for the long-awaited return of Wilmore and Williams. They are set to arrive at the ISS late Saturday night.
"We had a very successful launch last night," Chiao said. "It was a flawless launch, actually. They will arrive at the station a little bit later tonight, open the hatches, [and] be welcomed onboard. Everybody will celebrate their arrival, and then they're going to have a shortened handover."
Chiao explained that Wilmore and Williams would receive a brief orientation before boarding their spacecraft, which has remained docked at the ISS, to begin their return journey to Earth.
"They will return to Earth," he said. "We're looking forward to having all of them back, but especially Butch and Sunny, since they've been up in space for so long. Usually, long-duration missions are six months, but this one was nine-plus months, so I'm sure they're eager to get back."
The extended stay in space presents physical challenges for the astronauts. Chiao noted that while Wilmore and Williams were well-trained and accustomed to long-duration missions, the toll of space travel was unavoidable.
"Space flight comes with a lot of biomedical challenges," Chiao said. "Exercise is very important in space. That's why astronauts are scheduled for two hours of exercise daily. That helps mitigate issues like keeping your cardiopulmonary system in shape and maintaining muscle and bone health."
Wilmore and Williams were originally scheduled to return aboard Boeing's Starliner, but issues with the spacecraft led to concerns over their safety.
"It was a test flight for the Boeing Starliner, and unfortunately, it did not perform as it was supposed to," Chiao said. "They had a number of anomalies — thruster issues, some unexplained helium issues. The confidence in bringing them back down on that spacecraft was low, so it was brought back empty."
According to Chiao, Musk had offered to send a separate SpaceX vehicle to retrieve the stranded astronauts, but the Biden administration declined the offer.
"You've heard Elon Musk offered to send a separate vehicle up to get them," Chiao said. "He said the Biden administration rejected that. I don't know if it was for cost or other reasons, but that could have been done."
Instead, NASA opted to bring Wilmore and Williams home aboard a SpaceX spacecraft and substitute them for two astronauts initially assigned to the returning crew.
"The decision was made to take two people off of the next crew that was launching and substitute Butch and Sunny," Chiao said. "Unfortunately, those two astronauts are now in a bit of limbo."
NASA has not announced an exact timeline for their return, but their arrival on Earth will end an unprecedented and prolonged stay aboard the ISS.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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