Washington: NASA recently dispatched new astronauts to join the crew at the International Space Station (ISS), including the experienced astronaut Sunita Williams.
Following the successful docking of NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner earlier today, the new team members arrived on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. They will join the ongoing mission and contribute to the space station’s diverse scientific research projects.
The trio reached the ISS on the Soyuz spacecraft, completing their trip in just two Earth orbits and docking at 3:32 p.m. EDT (1932 GMT). They launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and are set to spend around six months on scientific endeavours for Expeditions 71 and 72.
This voyage signifies Don Pettit’s fourth spaceflight. At 69, he is the oldest active astronaut at NASA, with a total of 370 days spent in space. Ovchinin brings experience from four Soyuz missions.
The ISS’s crew count now stands at twelve, with the addition of Pettit, Ovchinin, and Vagner, joining Williams, Wilmore, Michael Barratt, Tracy Caldwell-Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko.
Sunita Williams, who is on the ISS, will have her mission extended until February 2025 due to technical difficulties with Boeing’s Starliner capsule. Initially planned for a shorter duration, Williams’ return has been postponed owing to issues with the Starliner’s thrusters and helium leaks. She and astronaut Butch Wilmore are now slated to return on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule early next year, following the uncrewed Starliner’s return to Earth last week.
