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NASA finally sets a return date for its stranded astronauts

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  • READ MORE: Tim Peake reveals what life is REALLY like for NASA’s astronauts

NASA has finally set a return date for its stranded astronauts – and it seems the pair don’t have long to wait to come back to Earth.

Veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were due to spend eight days on the International Space Station (ISS) but have been there for more than eight months after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft suffered propulsion problems.

Although their return craft has been docked with the station since September, Williams and Wilmore have been stuck while NASA prepares to send their replacements in the Crew 10 mission.

The mission was originally pushed back to late March, but the space agency now says it is ‘accelerating’ the launch to target Wednesday, March 12.

Crew 9, which includes Williams and Wilmore, will then spend a few days handing over to the new arrivals before making their way back to Earth.

The mission is scheduled to launch ‘pending mission readiness’, but further delays are possible if there is not an appropriate weather window.

Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, says: ‘Human spaceflight is full of unexpected challenges.

‘Our operational flexibility is enabled by the tremendous partnership between NASA and SpaceX and the agility SpaceX continues to demonstrate to safely meet the agency’s emerging needs.’

Wilmore and Williams first arrived at the ISS on June 5 last year aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft but became stranded after the experimental craft developed serious issues.

By the time the capsule arrived at the station, it had sprung a number of helium leaks, and five of its 28 thrusters had failed.

After weeks of tests, NASA ultimately decided that Starliner wasn’t safe enough to carry humans back to Earth and in September, the doomed spacecraft was sent home empty.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft they are scheduled to return on arrived later that month, but the pair must wait until March to use it.

Since Williams and Wilmore have become official members of NASA’s Crew 9 mission, they must wait to hand over with Crew 10 before leaving the station.

Originally, the Crew 10 mission was due to launch in February aboard a brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.

However, the mission had to be delayed when it emerged that SpaceX was not able to complete the construction and testing of the new capsule on time.

NASA explains that this latest scheduling change comes after SpaceX agreed to use a Crew Dragon capsule called Endurance which has already been used three times.

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft was plagued by technical issues even before it launched. By the time it arrived at the ISS, it had sprung more helium leaks and five of its 28 thrusters had failed, leaving Williams and Wilmore stranded

 

SpaceX and NASA are now working together to assess the spacecraft’s hardware, refurbish the interior, and get it ready for flight.

The capsule will launch with NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.

Crew 10 will then meet with Williams and Wilmore on the ISS for a brief handover period window in which they will be familiarised with ongoing scientific and maintenance projects.

Finally, Crew 9 will return home with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, and Nick Hague alongside Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

Pending good weather conditions, the capsule should splash down off the coast of Florida.

This announcement comes after Donald Trump called for SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to ‘go get’ the stranded astronauts and blamed delays on former president Joe Biden.

In a statement posted to his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: ”I have just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to “go get” the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned by the Biden administration.’

He added: ‘Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!’

Having now become part of the NASA Crew 9 mission, Williams (pictured) and Wilmore must wait until the Crew 10 mission arrives so that they can hand over to their replacement crew

 

The mission to collect the stranded astronauts has been accelerated after SpaceX agreed to use a previously used Crew Dragon capsule rather than a new spacecraft which was not going to be ready in time

 

This comes after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (left) and Donald Trump (right) created confusion by claiming that Musk had been ordered to ‘go get’ the stranded astronauts, despite the mission being planned for months in advance

 

In response, Musk tweeted: ‘The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so.

‘Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.’

These statements spread widespread confusion on social media given that SpaceX had been tasked with bringing the pair home months ago by Biden administration.

Likewise, despite the most recent delays being caused by SpaceX, Musk has been quick to celebrate the accelerated timeline.

In a post on X Musk wrote: ‘They’re coming home.’

In January, Wilmore and Williams said their spirits were still high, adding that they had plenty of food and were enjoying their time on the space station.

Yet there has been growing concern for the pair’s health after images appeared to show Williams looking thin and gaunt.

Williams has pushed back against the claims, blaming her appearance of unusual fluid distribution in microgravity and claiming that she has actually gained muscle in her legs.

Pictures of mission commander Williams have since sparked health concerns due to her ‘gaunt’ appearance. Williams maintains that she has actually gained weight while in space and that her unusual appearance is due to ‘fluid shift’

 

But, in January, Williams admitted that she had forgotten what it was like to walk after 234 days in space.

‘I’ve been up here long enough, right now I’ve been trying to remember what it’s like to walk. I haven’t walked. I haven’t sat down. I haven’t laid down,’ she said during a video call with students at Needham High School in Massachusetts.

However, NASA maintains that their astronauts are trained for extended stays in space and that some deterioration of muscle function is entirely normal.

If Williams and Wilmore do return home in late March as expected, their mission will have lasted two months longer than a standard long-term ISS mission, which typically lasts six months.

While their protracted stay is notable, it has not yet surpassed Frank Rubio’s record-breaking 371 days aboard the ISS, which he completed in 2023 after the Russian spacecraft designated for his return developed a coolant leak.

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9mobile customers raise alarm over network shutdown, blockage from porting, call out NCC

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Thousands of 9mobile customers are currently experiencing hardship due to the telecom operator’s decision to block porting requests.

Ekwutosblog gathered that for over a month, 9mobile subscribers have not been able to receive or make calls, send text or use their Sim card.

It was also learnt that the Sim card currently shows ‘No service’ or ‘emergency calls only’ nationwide.

 

A subscribers who spoke to our correspondents said the issue with the 9mobile network began last year and has now worsened. Subscribers also accused the telecom operator of blocking their porting requests.

Investigation by Ekwutosblog in major parts of the FCT revealed that there was no service while using a 9mobile sim.

A visit to the 9mobile Office in Kubwa and the Central Area also showed that there was no business activities going on due to unavailability of network.

 

A visibly angry subscriber who spoke to our correspondent said he has lost business due to the issue. He also called on the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, to sanction 9mobile.

One of the subscribers, identified as Ifiok Samson said, ”NCC needs to sanction 9mobile and issue a directive that they should allow their customers to port to other networks.

“We have been through a lot since last year. The network has been terrible and it has worsened since 2025.

”We barely have service for two days in a week. This is my main line and I have tried to port since January but it appears that 9mobile blocked its customers from porting. When I visited their office, their representative told me they had no network. They said this lackadaisical, like it isn’t their main purpose of doing business.

”This shows that the issue is really bad. Why should customers bear the brunt of these bad services and be forced to remain with 9mobile? Please help us. We have called on NCC and FCCPC on social media, yet no one has issued a directive to this effect. We are losing money daily due to our poor choice of using 9mobile. As a regulator please save us from this bondage.”

Here are some comments Ekwutosblog gathered from X

 

@Ifoye, NgComCommission, ”9mobile network has been down in Ibadan for over 2 weeks with no recovery date in sight. It is also impossible to port 9mobile numbers to other networks because they require 9mobile network to be on before that can be done. Kindly see to this because the implications are many for bank account owners, business, applicants, clients with prepaid subscriptions, etc.”

@DforDust, “9mobile has been unavailable for a month, a whole month. There’s no regulatory body dragging them, there’s no message from 9mobile about what’s going on. You know how many businesses some people would have lost because of that?!”

@PrettyaganahHello NCC, Please help us in Kano. 9mobile has been down for almost a month now and we have not been informed about it and nobody is doing or saying anything. We have lost a lot of business calls, especially being our primary lines. Please intervene.”

@motexmaryam, ”I have not used WhatsApp for almost 24 hrs because I can’t verify my number with mobile.Calls, SMS nothing is entering this God forsaking sim! Tried it at 4am still no network.”

@tony_okey, ”Please, you may have to temporarily waive the authorization code requirement for porting. I haven’t had any signal for months, so I can’t port from 9mobile. Please allow us to port from 9mobile in peace.No calls or SMS. Thank God for WhatsApp.”

@SanSparkles, ‘You guys have frustrated some of us enough. Kindly reinstate your porting services so those of us who want to port from 9mobile to another network can swiftly do that.Shutting your porting service is a selfish act.”

@aysomethin, ”Where is NCC the regulators? I went to MTN Yesterday to try to port away from this 9mobile network but was told they can’t do anything until 9mobile is back on the grid. Now I am being held ransom by a telcom. Shame.”

@suleman_Tanimu, ”9mobile needs to do one thing, at least make your porting service available so that customers can port to other preferred service providers. I’ve been visiting MTN office in Abuja for the past 3 weeks and the customer care keeps telling me that 9mobile porting service is down.”

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The Tesla Cybercab Will Have A Surprisingly Small Battery

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Il Tesla Cybercab visto dal vivo © insideEvs.com Copyright
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Despite that, Tesla claims an impressive range figure.

  • The Tesla Cybercab is coming next year.
  • With a sub-50-kWh battery pack, Tesla claims it would be able to drive “close to” 300 miles.

The Tesla Cybercab could be the most efficient electric vehicle in the world when it hits the streets sometime next year. That’s what two of the EV maker’s execs alluded to during a brief interview with Sandy Munro that explored some of the robotaxi’s peculiar features.

As a reminder, the Tesla Cybercab is a two-door, two-seater EV that doesn’t have a steering wheel–instead, Tesla claims it will be capable of driving itself and doing double duty as both a personal transport device and a self-driving taxi to bring in revenue for the owner.

It’s Tesla’s smallest car with a roof and it was designed for ultimate efficiency–when driving and during the manufacturing process. As a result, the EV could have a maximum real-world driving range “close to 300 miles” on a full charge, according to Lars Moravy, Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering.

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But while that’s not exactly a record-setting figure–the refreshed Model 3 Long Range has an EPA-estimated range of 363 miles–it’s the battery size that impresses. As per Moravy, the Cybercab will have a sub-50-kilowatt-hour battery pack. By comparison, the Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive has an estimated usable capacity of 75 kWh.

If true, this would result in a real-world efficiency of 6 miles/kilowatt-hour, which is outstanding. By comparison, the facelifted Model 3, which is one of the most efficient EVs out there, is rated at 4 mi/kWh, while the Lucid Air has an efficiency of 4.3 mi/kWh. In other words, the Tesla Cybercab would have a 50% higher efficiency than the Model 3.

The car’s design and manufacturing techniques help a lot with efficiency. According to Franz Von Holzhausen, Tesla’s Senior Design Executive, the teardrop shape of the car has a big impact on reducing energy consumption. Keeping it light also plays a significant role.

While the two execs did not disclose the weight of the two-door EV, they said that its body is made from unpainted polyurethane panels. The color is added to the panels during the manufacturing process, so even if a panel is scratched, there is no base coat that will show up, making scuffs less visible.

In fact, there is very little paint on the car, which leads to lower manufacturing costs and potentially lower repair costs if something goes wrong.

The two execs reiterated that the Tesla Cybercab is on track for a 2026 commercial launch. Manufacturing equipment is currently being installed at the Texas Gigafactory and the first pre-production units are expected to roll off the assembly line this summer.

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NASA announces Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s return date to Earth

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NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, along with Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will return to Earth (Image Credit: X/@Commercial_Crew) © Provided by Asian News International (ANI)
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Washington, DC [US], March 17 (ANI): NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, stranded at the International Space Station for over nine months, will return to Earth on Tuesday evening, NASA announced in a statement.

Williams and Wilmore are scheduled to travel back to Earth alongside Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.

NASA will provide live coverage of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 return to Earth from the International Space Station, beginning with Dragon spacecraft hatch closure preparations at 10:45 pm EDT on Monday. NASA and SpaceX met on Sunday to assess weather and splashdown conditions off Florida’s coast for the return of the agency’s Crew-9 mission from the International Space Station.

In a statement, NASA stated, “NASA will provide live coverage of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 return to Earth from the International Space Station, beginning with Dragon spacecraft hatch closure preparations at 10:45 p.m. EDT Monday, March 17.”

“NASA and SpaceX met on Sunday to assess weather and splashdown conditions off Florida’s coast for the return of the agency’s Crew-9 mission from the International Space Station. Mission managers are targeting an earlier Crew-9 return opportunity based on favorable conditions forecasted for the evening of Tuesday, March 18,” it added.

According to a NASA statement, the updated return target continues to allow the space station crew members time to complete handover duties while providing operational flexibility before less-favourable weather conditions are expected later in the week.

Mission managers will continue monitoring weather conditions in the area, as Dragon’s undocking relies on several factors, including spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors. NASA and SpaceX will confirm the specific splashdown location closer to the Crew-9 return, according to the statement.

SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov docked with International Space Station, Space X CEO Elon Musk announced on Sunday.

On Friday, SpaceX and NASA launched a mission to bring back US astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the ISS, where they have been stranded for nine months. The lift-off took place at 7:03 ET on Friday, with a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon spacecraft on the Crew-10 mission.

The launch came after US President Donald Trump urged Elon Musk to rescue the stranded astronauts sooner than NASA had planned. He has repeatedly accused former US President Joe Biden of abandoning them in space.

Wilmore and Williams have been stranded on the ISS for nine months after reaching there in June last year. They were supposed to stay there for about a week. The astronauts were transported from Earth to the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

However, the spacecraft came back to Earth unmanned in September. This came after NASA and Boeing identified “helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters” on June 6 as Starliner approached the space station. (ANI)

(more…)

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