NASA delays rescue operation for stranded astronauts on ISS until at least March

NASA on Tuesday announced that it would delay its rescue mission for two astronauts who have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS), in order to “complete processing” on a new SpaceX spacecraft that will be used in the operation.

Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were only expected to be on the station for a week, have been stranded in space since June because of safety issues related to their Boeing spacecraft. 

The two Americans were expected to be rescued in February, but the operation will now be delayed until at least late March. If they are rescued in late March as planned, Wilmore and Williams will have spent a total of nine months in space,  per NBC News.

NASA said the new SpaceX Dragon capsule that will be used in the operation is expected to arrive at NASA’s processing facility in Florida in early January.

“Fabrication, assembly, testing, and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavor that requires great attention to detail,” Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, said in a statement.

There are two other astronauts on the ISS that will come back with Williams and Wilmore; NASA's Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The four-person team will be replaced by NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.