Astronauts Trapped in Space Just Got a Lifeline - But Time is Running Out

A SpaceX Crew Dragon space capsule, which is due to bring home stuck astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams next year, arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday.

The much-needed capsule was sent to rescue the astronauts who have been stranded on the ISS due to a combination of unforeseen circumstances and planned missions being altered.

The situation started unfolding when it became clear that a Soyuz capsule scheduled to pick up some of the crew members of the ISS had been damaged and was no longer useable. After that, other planned missions were rescheduled, and this put the originally planned crew change dates in jeopardy.

As a result of the domino effect caused by the damaged Soyuz, the two astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams found themselves running out of time, as they were supposed to return to Earth sooner rather than later.

Thankfully, NASA stepped in and announced the Crew Dragon mission to bring back some crew members to make room for others on the ISS as there is a limited number of living quarters available on the space station.

With this new development, NASA’s initial plan to get the crew shifted seems on track. The SpaceX Crew Dragon arrived safely on Sunday, much to everyone’s relief. Providing hope to the stuck astronauts that they might not have to spend much more time away from family, friends and their earthly home.

The NASA team is very hopeful that the crew change will go according to plan, despite previous mishaps, allowing for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to finally return to Earth as planned in the upcoming year.