NASA, SpaceX launch Crew-10 mission to bring back stranded astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore
Houston: NASA and SpaceX successfully launched the Crew-10 Mission on Friday to bring back US astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station (ISS), where they have been stranded for nine months.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon spacecraft lifted off at 7:03 AM ET from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission also transported four astronauts—NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov—to replace Williams and Wilmore at the ISS.
Crew-10 marks the 10th crew rotation mission under SpaceX’s human space transportation system and the 11th crewed flight to the ISS, including the Demo-2 test flight. The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
Williams and Wilmore arrived at the ISS in June 2024 aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which was initially meant to return them to Earth after a week. However, technical issues, including helium leaks and problems with the spacecraft's reaction control thrusters, led to the Starliner returning unmanned in September.
After multiple delays, the astronauts are expected to begin their return journey on March 19.
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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
