NASA astronauts and Roscosmos cosmonauts, who have been aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for seven months, are set to return to Earth on Saturday, April 19.
A SpaceX Dragon freighter is scheduled to launch on Monday, April 21, with much-needed supplies and science experiments for the ISS, following a payload re-allocation caused by damage to Northrop Grumman's Cygnus freighter.
If the Dragon fails to launch, the ISS crew may need to reduce in numbers to conserve supplies and keep the station operational, as they have in the past during the early days of the space station.
SpaceX's Dragon mission is currently the only route to the ISS from US soil, since the Starliner is still grounded and Northrop Grumman's next Cygnus launch is scheduled for later this year.