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WG3K > ANS 13.03.25 04:05l 21 Lines 2738 Bytes #162 (0) @ AMSAT
BID : ANS068.4
Read: GUEST
Subj: ISS Astronauts Reject Call for Early Retirement of the Stati
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Sent: 250313/0015Z 14951@WG3K.#SMD.MD.USA.NOAM LinBPQ6.0.24
Astronauts on the International Space Station said they disagreed with Elon MuskâÖs claim that the station was past its prime and should be deorbited in as soon as two years.
Speaking to reporters March 4, NASA astronauts Suni Williams, KD5PLB, and Butch Wilmore, who have been on the station since June on a flawed Starliner test flight, and Nick Hague, KG5TMV, the commander of the Crew-9 mission that will bring the two back with him later this month, addressed political issues like an early retirement of the ISS and MuskâÖs claim he offered NASA an early return of the Starliner crew.
That included comments on social media by Musk on Feb. 20 where he said the ISS âhas served its purposeâ and has âvery little incremental utility.â Musk called for deorbiting the ISS as soon as possible, which he said should be in two years. NASAâÖs current plans call for operating the ISS to 2030.
âI actually was extremely impressed coming up here and seeing how much science is going on,â Williams said when asked about MuskâÖs comments. âI would say weâÖre actually in our prime right now. WeâÖve got all the power, all the facilities, up and operating.â
âI would think that right now was probably not the right time to call it quits,â she concluded. âWe have probably until 2030 in our agreements, and I think thatâÖs probably really accurate, because we should make the most of this space station for our taxpayers and for all of our international partners, and hold our obligations.â
NASA is instead proceeding with its plan announced in August to have Wilmore and Williams return on the Crew-9 Crew Dragon spacecraft, which launched with two empty seats to provide room for their return. NASA did not consider bringing that capsule back early to ensure there would be an overlap with the Crew-10 mission launching as soon as March 12
âWhen I launched in late September, our planned return date was the end of February,â Hague said. âGiven the amount of training thatâÖs required to get a crew ready and the complexities associated with getting a spacecraft ready to launch and operate in space, targeting a March return is pretty much on target.â
Because Williams and Wilmore did not launch as part of a planned Crew Dragon mission, they do not have customized pressure suits, using instead suits either on the station or brought up on cargo spacecraft.
That means, Williams said, they donâÖt have their names on them like a typical Crew Dragon suit. âBut thatâÖs ok. WeâÖre just Butch and Suni and everybody knows who we are by now.â
âWe do have Sharpies up here,â Wilmore added, âso my suit might have a name on it.â
[ANS thanks spacenews.com for the above information.]
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