- Four astronauts arrived at the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule. The group joined the Expedition 72 crew.
- Crew-10 commander Anne McClain reported a successful trip and announced crew activities, including material flammability tests and student engagement via the ISS Ham Radio Program.
- NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are scheduled to return home after an extended nine-month stay due to delays with their replacement capsule.
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Four astronauts arrived at the International Space Station Sunday, March 16, aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule. The capsule docked in less than 48 hours after launching from Cape Canaveral.
How many people are on the ISS now?
Americans Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov were greeted by the Expedition 72 crew. The Expedition 72 crew includes NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Don Petitt, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksandr Gorbunov, Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.
Crew-10 commander Anne McClain, an Army colonel and former combat helicopter pilot, told flight controllers that she and her fellow astronauts had a “great trip” from the launch pad to the space station.
“I cannot tell you the immense joy of our crew when we looked out the window and we saw the space station for the first time,” she said.
What will the new crew do on the ISS?
NASA announced that Crew-10 is scheduled to conduct material flammability tests that will contribute to future spacecraft and facility designs. The crew will engage with students worldwide via the ISS Ham Radio Program and use the program’s existing hardware to test a backup lunar navigation solution.
Additionally, one crew member will conduct an integrated study to better understand physiological and psychological changes to the human body, providing valuable insights for future deep space missions.
Who is expected to leave the ISS?
The arrival of the replacement crew means that Wilmore and Williams can head home after nine months aboard the space station, a stay that was expected to last only a week. Wilmore and Williams were launched on the Boeing Starliner in June 2024, but the craft encountered so many problems that NASA insisted it return empty.
Wilmore’s and Williams’ ride arrived back in late September 2024 with a downsized crew of two and two empty seats reserved for the return trip. However, more delays occurred when their replacements’ new capsule needed extensive battery repairs. An older capsule took its place, pushing their return back to mid-March.
Weather permitting, the SpaceX capsule carrying Wilmore, Williams and two other astronauts will undock from the space station no earlier than Wednesday, March 19, and splash down off Florida’s coast.
CBS News reported that Williams will move up to No. 2 on the list of most experienced U.S. astronauts with around 570 days in space overall, depending on the actual launch date. Only former astronaut Peggy Whitson has more time aloft among U.S. astronauts: 675 days over four flights.
