NASA's stuck astronauts finally on their way back to Earth after 9 months in space
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Cape Canaveral (AP): NASA's two stuck astronauts headed back to Earth with SpaceX on Tuesday to close out a dramatic marathon mission that began with a bungled Boeing test flight more than nine months ago.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams bid farewell to the International Space Station — their home since last spring — departing aboard a SpaceX capsule alongside two other astronauts.
The capsule undocked in the wee hours and aimed for a splashdown off the Florida coast by early evening, weather permitting.
The two expected to be gone just a week or so after launching on Boeing's new Starliner crew capsule on June 5. So many problems cropped up on the way to the space station that NASA eventually sent Starliner back empty and transferred the test pilots to SpaceX, pushing their homecoming into February. Then SpaceX capsule issues added another month's delay.
Sunday's arrival of their relief crew meant Wilmore and Williams could finally leave. NASA cut them loose a little early, given the iffy weather forecast later this week.
They checked out with NASA's Nick Hague and Russia's Alexander Gorbunov, who arrived in their own SpaceX capsule last fall with two empty seats reserved for the Starliner duo.
“We'll miss you, but have a great journey home,” NASA's Anne McClain called out from the space station as the capsule pulled away 260 miles (418 kilometers) above the Pacific.
Their plight captured the world's attention, giving new meaning to the phrase “stuck at work”.
While other astronauts had logged longer spaceflights over the decades, none had to deal with so much uncertainty or see the length of their mission expand by so much.
Wilmore and Williams quickly transitioned from guests to full-fledged station crew members, conducting experiments, fixing equipment and even spacewalking together.
With 62 hours over nine spacewalks, Williams set a new record: the most time spent spacewalking over a career among female astronauts.
Both had lived on the orbiting lab before and knew the ropes, and brushed up on their station training before rocketing away. Williams became the station's commander three months into their stay and held the post until earlier this month.
Their mission took an unexpected twist in late January when President Donald Trump asked SpaceX founder Elon Musk to accelerate the astronauts' return and blamed the delay on the Biden administration.
The replacement crew's brand new SpaceX capsule still wasn't ready to fly, so SpaceX subbed it with a used one, hurrying things along by at least a few weeks.
Even in the middle of the political storm, Wilmore and Williams continued to maintain an even keel at public appearances from orbit, casting no blame and insisting they supported NASA's decisions from the start.
NASA hired SpaceX and Boeing after the shuttle program ended, in order to have two competing US companies for transporting astronauts to and from the space station until it's abandoned in 2030 and steered to a fiery reentry.
By then, it will have been up there more than three decades; the plan is to replace it with privately run stations so NASA can focus on moon and Mars expeditions.
Both retired Navy captains, Wilmore and Williams stressed they didn't mind spending more time in space — a prolonged deployment reminiscent of their military days. But they acknowledged it was tough on their families.
Wilmore, 62, missed most of his younger daughter's senior year of high school; his older daughter is in college. Williams, 59, had to settle for internet calls from space to her mother. They'll have to wait until they're off the SpaceX recovery ship and flown to Houston before the long-awaited reunion with their loved ones.
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Bommai condemns Goa CM's statement on Mahadayi river project
Gadag (Karnataka), Jul 27 (PTI): BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavarj Bommai on Sunday condemned Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's statement on the Mahadayi river project, as he also questioned the Congress' moral right to speak on the issue.
He claimed that whatever progress has been made on the Mahadayi issue, it happened under the BJP government.
Addressing the Goa Assembly last week, Sawant claimed that the Centre would not approve the Mahadayi project.
He also said the Goa government would file a contempt petition in the Supreme Court against Karnataka for carrying out activities aimed at diverting Mahadayi river water.
Bommai said, "There is no need to politicise the Mahadayi project issue. We are all united as this is an issue concerning the state. I condemn the statement made by the Chief Minister of Goa. There is no need to play such a big political game over one state's interests. He must act in accordance with the law, and hence I condemn his remarks."
Speaking to reporters here, he questioned the moral standing of Congress leaders in Karnataka on the Mahadayi issue.
"Congress leader Sonia Gandhi herself during the Goa polls said that not a single drop of Mahadayi water would be given to Karnataka. What moral right does Congress have to speak on this issue?" he asked.
Dubbing the Goa CM's statement an "insult to the people of Karnataka", CM Siddaramaiah had earlier hit out at the BJP stating "Why has the Centre not officially communicated its concerns? Is this how federalism works under the BJP? Are we being punished for not surrendering to the BJP?"
Bommai accused the Congress party of building a barrier to prevent Mahadayi water from flowing into the Malaprabha river, thereby obstructing the interlinking canal work initiated during the BJP regime and this was the only "contribution" Congress made to the Mahadayi project.
"Whatever progress has been made on the Mahadayi issue, it happened under the BJP government. The Congress, which constituted the tribunal, did not even provide it an office for four years. It was the BJP government that gave it an office. Though the tribunal gave a verdict, it was not notified. The NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued the notification," he said.
It was the central NDA government that prepared the DPR for the Mahadayi project and got it approved. "It was also the BJP government that secured environmental clearance. The only thing the Congress did was to block the interlinking canal works started during the BJP tenure by constructing a barrier to prevent Mahadayi water from reaching the Malaprabha river," he said.
Goa has been opposing Karnataka's Kalasa-Banduri project in the Mahadayi river basin.
The Kalasa-Banduri project by the Karnataka government proposes diverting Mahadayi river water into the Malaprabha river to enhance the drinking water supply in parts of Dharwad, Belagavi, Bagalkote, and Gadag districts.
The Mahadayi river flows through Karnataka and Goa before joining the Arabian Sea. Known as the Mandovi in Goa, it is one of the state's two major rivers.
The diversion of Mahadayi water has long been a point of contention between Karnataka and Goa, with the latter claiming "it would severely impact the state's flora and fauna."
Speaking about the urea shortage in the state, Bommai said the government could have averted the crisis.
"Rainfall began early this year, and fertilizer should have been supplied where needed. Buffer stock should have been maintained, the management has not been proper," he said.
Noting that the state government has now submitted to the Centre for additional urea fertilizer supply, he said, "We (BJP) too will speak with the Union Minister for Agriculture and Fertilizers to get more supply. But more importantly, the fertilizer that is already arriving must be distributed properly by the Agriculture Department and the concerned ministers."
