The Morning: Bringing astronauts home

Plus, a government shutdown, Ukraine and movies

View in browser|nytimes.com March 14, 2025 Good morning. We're covering astronauts, a government shutdown and movies. Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. JSC/NASA Space time By Kenneth Chang I cover space. Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore thought they were taking off for a couple weeks in space. Their mission was to test Boeing's new Starliner spacecraft and then head home. It didn't go as planned. Nine months later, the NASA astronauts will finally return to Earth from the International Space Station next week if there are no other hitches. Their relief is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX ship tonight (though weather may change the plan) and arrive at the space station on Saturday. In today's newsletter, I'll explain how Williams and Wilmore got stuck in orbit for so long — and why NASA decided not to bring them back sooner. A puzzle Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in June. Joe Skipper/Reuters The saga started in June. Although NASA thought the mission would be short, the agency was careful; it trained Williams and Wilmore to work and live on the space station for months, just in case the flight went awry. As Starliner approached the space station, some of its thrusters stopped working for a while. Still, it was able to dock. After a couple of months of troubleshooting, space agency officials decided to play it safe. They'd bring Starliner back to Earth without the astronauts. (It landed without incident in September.) But that meant Williams and Wilmore needed another ride home. Think of it as the space version of rebooking passengers after a flight cancellation. It's not easy being a NASA travel agent. The agency likes having seven astronauts on the space station. Every six months or so, it swaps four out. (Russia sends three astronauts at a time.) With Williams and Wilmore sticking around, NASA had two more bodies to worry about. The options NASA had three choices: Put Williams and Wilmore on the four-seat SpaceX craft that was already docked at the station and bring them home when the other crew's mission concluded. But that would have meant delaying the return of two of the astronauts who were already there, stretching their stay to about a year. Launch a SpaceX ship to bring home Williams and Wilmore immediately. But with the other SpaceX craft and its four astronauts also departing at about the same time, that would have left the space station understaffed with just three astronauts. Rushing to send replacement astronauts might have cost hundreds of millions of extra dollars and scrambled the schedule for future crew rotations. Launch the next SpaceX mission in September with two astronauts instead of four. Then Williams and Wilmore could stay as part of the space station crew until February, and there would be seats for them on the return trip. Nine months is not an inordinately long time to spend in orbit. Some astronauts have spent a year or longer at the space station. NASA picked No. 3, though the February pickup date slipped to March as SpaceX failed to ready a new ship on time. In Cape Canaveral, Fla. Steve Nesius/Reuters The astronauts have spent their time at the space station on research, mostly studying what the absence of gravity does to the human body. Weightlessness reduces the density of bones. Astronauts counteract that by exercising for a couple of hours a day. Other experiments have looked for changes in eyesight, cardiac health and brain function. A political gambit In January, President Trump and Elon Musk opened up a new debate about NASA's plans. They accused the Biden administration of having callously abandoned Williams and Wilmore. Now the president asked Musk to go rescue them as soon as possible. Musk later added that he had offered to bring the astronauts home months earlier but that NASA had turned him down to avoid helping a Trump ally. But it's unknown whom Musk spoke to or what exactly he offered. Musk avoids talking to reporters, and NASA officials have sidestepped questions about him. They say they chose the plan that made the most sense. To many, an unexpected nine-month layover in orbit sounds like a business trip gone horribly wrong. But astronauts live to go to space, and they don't get many chances. Williams, 59, and Wilmore, 62, had each been there only twice during a quarter-century at NASA. Interviews from the International Space Station. The New York Times In an appearance on "The Daily" today, Williams turned wistful about how this could be her last trip off the planet. "It makes you really want to enjoy every bit of your time that you have up here," she said. Related: When is the launch and how can I watch it? Your questions are answered here. More on space The moon last night. Yuri Cortez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The Earth's shadow blanketed the moon early this morning, casting it in a deep red. If you couldn't stay awake to witness the eclipse, see a video. An asteroid-chasing spacecraft just swung past Mars. As it zipped by, it took hundreds of photos. THE LATEST NEWS Government Shutdown Senator Chuck Schumer said he and a group of Democrats would support a Republican-written spending bill to prevent the government from shutting down tonight. "A shutdown would give Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk permission to destroy vital government services at a significantly faster rate than they can right now," Schumer wrote in a Times Opinion guest essay. Democrats who oppose the bill say that it, too, gives the Trump administration wide latitude to slash government employees and programs. Government Cuts A federal judge said the government must rehire thousands of probationary workers across six agencies. The judge called the Trump administration's rationale for the firings a "sham." A federal judge ordered Elon Musk and his cost-cutting operatives to provide documents and answer questions about their role in directing mass firings and dismantling government programs. Musk's team said it would disclose its savings and cuts transparently. These graphics show how its website has inflated and deleted claims. More on the Trump Administration Trump asked the Supreme Court to allow his order targeting birthright citizenship to take effect. An appeals court is set to consider the order's constitutionality this summer. Trump threatened to impose a 200 percent tariff on wines and other alcohol from Europe. Wine businesses fear disaster. The Trump administration demanded discipline and admissions policy changes at Columbia. A Kennedy Center crowd booed Vice President JD Vance before a performance by the National Symphony Orchestra. A Senate panel will hold a confirmation hearing today for Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump's pick to oversee Medicare and Medicaid. (He became famous for giving medical advice. But was it any good?) China is worried about American tariffs on Mexico, which has been an indirect route to the U.S. market for Chinese goods. Immigration officers detained German tourists for weeks before deporting them. War in Ukraine After the U.S. and Ukraine proposed a cease-fire, Vladimir Putin said he was open to negotiations. But his proposals suggest he wants to stall negotiations or make a truce impossible. Volodymyr Zelensky called Putin's response to the cease-fire plan "manipulative." Weather The New York Times A portion of the U.S. stretching from Iowa through Texas is at high risk for wildfires today. An even broader swath, covering the Midwest and the South, could get hail, tornadoes and thunderstorms. A tornado hit a Los Angeles neighborhood as heavy rain threatened areas that wildfires ravaged this year. Other Big Stories The S&P 500 stock index fell again. It's now more that 10 percent below its recent peak, which puts it into so-called correction territory (here's what that means). The U.N. accused Israel of targeting reproductive health facilities in Gaza. Officials diverted a plane to the Denver airport, worried about an engine. The engine caught fire while taxiing and forced passengers to evacuate onto a wing. The Japanese government held a rare auction this week to address a rice shortage in the country. More than half of teenagers say that boys and girls are now mostly equal in school. Opinions Before vaccines, diseases like measles destroyed economies and shuttered towns. These charts show how they spread. Ukraine's president should hold local elections to prove his commitment to democracy, Michael Bociurkiw writes. Here is a column by Michelle Goldberg on Gavin Newsom's podcast. Save up to 75% on Games. Our best offer won't last. Love to play? Discover all our games. Subscribe to New York Times Games today and save up to 75% on your first year — improve your Wordle strategy with Wordle Bot, reach Genius on Spelling Bee, plus more. Come play with us. MORNING READS Maxim Arbugaev for The New York Times Bone hunters of Siberia: These explorers dive beneath ice in search of the fossils of long-extinct creatures. Trapped: A woman fell asleep while driving and crashed in a ditch. Pinned to the dashboard with broken bones, she couldn't get help. Read the story of how she survived for six days. Stinky and $800 a pound: The Times joined a pack of dogs on the hunt for Oregon truffles. It's natural: Our bodies change as we age. Not every change warrants a doctor's visit. Social Q's: "My mother is punishing me for not coming out to her sooner. Help!" Navigating conflict? This Texas trial lawyer has the right words. Most clicked yesterday: The video of the lunar eclipse. Lives Lived: Larry Buendorf was a Secret Service agent credited with saving the life of President Gerald Ford in an assassination attempt in 1975. Buendorf died at 87. SPORTS M.L.B.: The Tampa Bay Rays ownership announced that the team would not move forward with a stadium project in St. Petersburg, Fla. Men's college basketball: Cooper Flagg of Duke injured his ankle in the Blue Devils' win over Georgia Tech. N.B.A: The Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry became the first player to record 4,000 3-pointers. ARTS AND IDEAS Our movie critics watch a lot of films — and have been doing so for years. We compiled our favorite movies since 2000. See if your favorites made the list. More on culture An American influencer outraged Australians — including the prime minister — because she grabbed a baby wombat that was near its mother. "The White Lotus" Season 3 has shown full-frontal nudity. But the last episode had a prosthetic, The Cut reports. Late-night hosts joked about Trump's liquor tariff threat. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … David Malosh for The New York Times Mix orzo with asparagus, garlic bread crumbs and a lemony dressing. Avoid work burnout. Read one (or more) of these 24 new novels the Book Review is excited about. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangrams were couponing and pouncing. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. 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