From Cleo Abram.

These two astronauts just got back from the International Space Station. They were supposed to be on the ISS 8 days, and they stayed more than 9 months! Here’s why…

Back in June, they took off from earth on the Boeing Starliner. To reach the ISS, they had to chase it down, flying out to its orbit 250 miles above Earth and zooming to reach its speed of over 28,000 km/h. But as they approached, some of their thrusters malfunctioned. That made NASA worry the Starliner wouldn’t get the astronauts home safely, so they sent it back empty. But that meant these astronauts needed a different ride home!

Usually there are around 7 crew on the ISS, and NASA swaps 4 out every 6 months or so. So in September, on the next planned SpaceX mission, they only sent 2 – leaving 2 seats back for our astronauts!

And now, they’re safely HOME.

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#shorts #space #astronauts #ISS #NASA #spaceX