(Image source from: Twitter.com/Space_Station)

NASA and SpaceX have decided to delay the launch of a four-member astronaut crew intended to replace the current team on the International Space Station (ISS). This postponement impacts the long-anticipated return of US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams. The Crew-10 mission was originally scheduled for launch from Florida on a SpaceX rocket to facilitate the crew change and to allow Wilmore and Williams, who have been in space for nine months after a problematic journey aboard Boeing’s Starliner, to come back to Earth. The launch was canceled due to a problem with the hydraulic system connected to the ground support clamp arm of the Falcon 9 rocket. NASA mentioned that efforts are underway to fix this issue before they announce a new launch date. They have now updated the launch target to 7:03 PM EDT (2303 GMT) on Friday, which corresponds to 4:33 AM IST on Saturday, following Wednesday's postponement due to forecasts of strong winds and rain along the Dragon's trajectory.

Should Crew-10 launch Friday, NASA expects the Crew-9 mission, which includes astronauts Wilmore and Williams, to leave the ISS on March 19. This timeline adjustment follows requests from President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, advocating for Wilmore and Williams to return sooner than planned. Both astronauts, seasoned professionals and U.S. Navy test pilots, have had their mission extended significantly beyond the initial eight days on the ISS. Last year, their Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth without them. Initially, SpaceX had slated the Crew-10 mission to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral at 7:48 PM ET (2348 GMT) on Wednesday, translating to 6:18 AM IST on Thursday, with a crew consisting of two American astronauts, one from Japan, and one from Russia.

NASA confirmed that Wilmore and Williams have been conducting research and maintenance work aboard the ISS alongside other astronauts, and they are safe. During a press conference on March 4, Williams shared her eagerness to reunite with her family and pets upon their return. She commented on the challenging experience for her family, saying, "It’s been a roller coaster for them, probably a little bit more so than for us. We're here, we have a mission - we’re just doing what we do every day, and every day is interesting because we’re up in space and it’s a lot of fun.” NASA emphasized that Wilmore and Williams need to stay on the ISS until Crew-10 arrives to maintain adequate US astronaut presence for vital maintenance work. The two arrived at the ISS in June as part of Boeing’s initial crewed test flight of the Starliner spacecraft. However, following propulsion system malfunctions in space, NASA concluded that returning them via the Boeing craft would present too much risk, leading to plans for their return using a SpaceX capsule.