WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy will speak with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, and Don Pettit on Monday to discuss their mission aboard the International Space Station.
The U.S. space agency said the Earth to space call coverage will begin at 1:30 p.m. EST on NASA+. The NASA content can also be watched through a variety of platforms, including social media.
NASA's Commercial Crew Program has delivered on its goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station from the United States through a partnership with American private industry. This partnership is opening access to low Earth orbit and the space station to more people, science, and commercial opportunities. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and eventually, to Mars.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been living and working aboard the station since docking on June 6, contributing to the expedition crew's research and maintenance activities, while helping ground teams collect critical data for long-duration Starliner flights to the orbiting complex.
The astronauts were supposed to return to earth on June 14, but after encountering technical issues, it has been delayed.
The mission was meant to last eight days. However, as the capsule's thrusters malfunctioned and helium leaked as Starliner docked with the ISS, NASA decided not to fly the spacecraft back to Earth until the problems were solved or at least better understood.
Following the U.S. space agency's decision to return Starliner uncrewed, the duo will remain on the space station as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew. NASA had plans to return them home in February aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members on its SpaceX Crew-9 mission. But latest reports say their home-coming will possibly be delayed further.
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