Berliner Boersenzeitung - Astronauts finally to return after unexpected 9-month ISS stay

EUR -
AED 3.963855
AFN 77.141298
ALL 99.285391
AMD 426.552655
ANG 1.943884
AOA 987.454539
ARS 1156.476528
AUD 1.71234
AWG 1.942533
AZN 1.836039
BAM 1.955583
BBD 2.177758
BDT 131.075451
BGN 1.95529
BHD 0.406774
BIF 3156.616754
BMD 1.079185
BND 1.44494
BOB 7.453173
BRL 6.202297
BSD 1.07858
BTN 92.457738
BWP 14.745363
BYN 3.529808
BYR 21152.030217
BZD 2.16656
CAD 1.544427
CDF 3097.261255
CHF 0.951946
CLF 0.026249
CLP 1007.300441
CNY 7.726377
CNH 7.845747
COP 4500.472144
CRC 538.540224
CUC 1.079185
CUP 28.598408
CVE 110.728693
CZK 24.964575
DJF 191.79305
DKK 7.462069
DOP 68.315345
DZD 144.467284
EGP 54.563724
ERN 16.187778
ETB 139.376405
FJD 2.478672
FKP 0.837437
GBP 0.833244
GEL 3.000024
GGP 0.837437
GHS 16.729561
GIP 0.837437
GMD 77.162869
GNF 9340.347857
GTQ 8.316077
GYD 226.274884
HKD 8.391906
HNL 27.74569
HRK 7.533143
HTG 141.304316
HUF 401.532583
IDR 17902.495616
ILS 3.967058
IMP 0.837437
INR 92.481263
IQD 1413.732632
IRR 45447.197961
ISK 142.711174
JEP 0.837437
JMD 169.291209
JOD 0.765168
JPY 163.087011
KES 139.757041
KGS 93.3487
KHR 4332.928374
KMF 492.647321
KPW 971.284176
KRW 1581.238356
KWD 0.332767
KYD 0.8988
KZT 539.21015
LAK 23376.230613
LBP 96694.995581
LKR 319.554531
LRD 215.351455
LSL 19.673796
LTL 3.186553
LVL 0.652788
LYD 5.207029
MAD 10.38122
MDL 19.495836
MGA 5034.399473
MKD 61.497972
MMK 2265.838397
MNT 3757.014446
MOP 8.639641
MRU 42.967767
MUR 49.416076
MVR 16.630152
MWK 1873.465344
MXN 21.942372
MYR 4.782402
MZN 68.971209
NAD 19.673802
NGN 1657.618021
NIO 39.660174
NOK 11.321252
NPR 147.93258
NZD 1.879908
OMR 0.415473
PAB 1.07858
PEN 3.933631
PGK 4.352624
PHP 61.884261
PKR 302.496033
PLN 4.183949
PYG 8641.120944
QAR 3.929044
RON 4.977526
RSD 117.304173
RUB 91.142664
RWF 1527.586672
SAR 4.048138
SBD 9.081234
SCR 15.512209
SDG 648.047162
SEK 10.786136
SGD 1.445822
SHP 0.84807
SLE 24.608036
SLL 22629.975538
SOS 616.736096
SRD 39.33684
STD 22336.955088
SVC 9.437952
SYP 14031.42579
SZL 19.695038
THB 36.541065
TJS 11.788991
TMT 3.78794
TND 3.356191
TOP 2.527555
TRY 41.021662
TTD 7.321187
TWD 35.724307
TZS 2881.424781
UAH 44.739249
UGX 3952.597905
USD 1.079185
UYU 45.414959
UZS 13972.752034
VES 74.046734
VND 27600.161878
VUV 133.119049
WST 3.046741
XAF 655.8842
XAG 0.031417
XAU 0.000353
XCD 2.916552
XDR 0.817808
XOF 655.610312
XPF 119.331742
YER 265.425185
ZAR 19.676687
ZMK 9713.962996
ZMW 31.004559
ZWL 347.497199
  • RYCEF

    0.0600

    10.3

    +0.58%

  • RBGPF

    1.2200

    68.22

    +1.79%

  • CMSC

    -0.1200

    22.82

    -0.53%

  • NGG

    0.2000

    63.77

    +0.31%

  • GSK

    0.2900

    38.6

    +0.75%

  • VOD

    0.0000

    9.36

    0%

  • BTI

    0.4310

    41.251

    +1.04%

  • RELX

    0.1600

    50.13

    +0.32%

  • RIO

    -0.3630

    62.507

    -0.58%

  • BP

    0.0950

    34.515

    +0.28%

  • AZN

    0.2650

    72.985

    +0.36%

  • CMSD

    0.0400

    22.7

    +0.18%

  • SCS

    0.6900

    11.29

    +6.11%

  • JRI

    0.0100

    12.97

    +0.08%

  • BCE

    0.4750

    23.125

    +2.05%

  • BCC

    -0.1600

    100.61

    -0.16%

Astronauts finally to return after unexpected 9-month ISS stay
Astronauts finally to return after unexpected 9-month ISS stay / Photo: - - NASA/AFP

Astronauts finally to return after unexpected 9-month ISS stay

After more than nine months aboard the International Space Station, a pair of astronauts are finally set to depart for Earth early Tuesday, ending a prolonged mission that has captivated global attention.

Text size:

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams flew to the orbital lab in June last year, on what was supposed to be a days-long roundtrip to test out Boeing's Starliner on its first crewed flight.

But the spaceship developed propulsion problems and was deemed unfit to fly them back, instead returning empty without more major problems.

Ex-Navy pilots Wilmore and Williams, 62 and 59 respectively, were instead re-assigned to the NASA-SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which saw a Dragon spacecraft fly to the ISS last September with a team of two, rather than the usual four, to make room for the "stranded" pair.

Then, early Sunday, a relief team called Crew-10 docked with the station, their arrival met with broad smiles and hugs as they floated through the hatch.

Crew-10's arrival clears the way for Wilmore and Williams to depart, along with American Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

Hatch closure is set for 10:45 pm (0245 GMT), followed by final checks and undocking at 1:05 am.

If all goes smoothly, the Dragon craft will deploy its parachutes off the coast of Florida for an ocean splashdown, where a recovery vessel will retrieve the crew.

- 'Unbelievable resilience' -

Wilmore and Williams' stay surpasses the standard six-month ISS rotation but ranks only sixth among US records for single-mission duration.

Frank Rubio holds the top spot at 371 days in 2023, while the world record remains with Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437 consecutive days aboard the Mir station.

That makes it "par for the course" in terms of health risks, according to Rihana Bokhari of the Center for Space Medicine at Baylor College.

Challenges such as muscle and bone loss, fluid shifts, and readjusting to gravity are well understood and well managed.

"Folks like Suni Williams are actually known for their interest in exercise, and so I believe she exercises beyond what is even her normal prescription," Bokhari told AFP.

Still, the unexpected nature of their extended stay -- away from their families and initially without enough packed supplies -- has drawn public interest and sympathy.

"If you found out you went to work today and were going to be stuck in your office for the next nine months, you might have a panic attack," Joseph Keebler, a psychologist at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told AFP.

"These individuals have shown unbelievable resilience."

- Trump weighs in -

Their unexpected stint also became a political lightning rod, with President Donald Trump and his close advisor, Elon Musk -- who leads SpaceX -- repeatedly suggesting former president Joe Biden abandoned the astronauts and refused an earlier rescue plan.

"They shamefully forgot about the Astronauts, because they considered it to be a very embarrassing event for them," Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday.

Such accusations have prompted an outcry in the space community, especially as Musk offered no specifics and NASA's plan for the astronauts' return has remained unchanged since their Crew-9 reassignment.

Trump has also drawn attention for his bizarre remarks, referring to Williams, a decorated former naval captain, as "the woman with the wild hair" and speculating about the personal dynamic between the two.

"They've been left up there -- I hope they like each other, maybe they love each other, I don't know," he said during a recent White House press conference.

(L.Kaufmann--BBZ)