NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore — and their two Crew-9 teammates — just completed pressure checks for their white-and-gray flight suits, which are designed to add a layer of extra protection for the crew as they ride home aboard Crew Dragon.
“Their suit pressurization checks — 4 good suits — it was good to go,” a NASA commentator confirmed during an audio broadcast.
Notably, however, Williams and Wilmore arrived at the International Space Station nine months ago in very different attire, donning the royal blue spacesuits from Boeing, which manufactured the Starliner spacecraft that carried them to the ISS last June for its debut crewed flight test.
Starliner’s myriad issues prompted NASA to send that vehicle home without its crew, setting Williams and Wilmore up to ride home aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule — which has carried out routine ISS missions since 2020.
One big hangup: Boeing’s flight suits were not compatible with SpaceX’s Dragon vehicle. And that left the duo in a potentially precarious situation.
In fact, there was a brief period last fall during which Williams’ and Wilmore’s only option for returning to Earth if a catastrophic emergency made the ISS unlivable was to ride home without wearing precautionary flight suits — strapped onto a foam cushion wedged next to the seats onboard SpaceX’s Crew-8 capsule.
That contingency was never needed, of course.
And during their return trip today, Williams is wearing a spare SpaceX suit that was already on board the ISS and happened to fit.
And SpaceX was able to send up a new suit for Wilmore when the company launched the Crew-9 vehicle — the same capsule bringing Williams and Wilmore home right now.
The SpaceX flight suits are “designed to be functional, lightweight, and to offer protection from potential depressurization,” according to a NASA. “A single connection point on the suit’s thigh attaches life support systems, including air and power connections.”
