Boeing Starliner 'Gilligan's Island' astronauts prepping to come home after NASA Crew-10 launch
Closing out an unexpected marathon mission marked by a malfunctioning Boeing Starliner spacecraft and political controversy, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are ramping up activities to return back to Earth from the International Space Station.
Wilmore and Williams, launched into orbit on June 4 during the maiden Starliner crewed test mission to the ISS. But the spacecraft's thrusters malfunctioned, and the duo's roughly weeklong mission got extended and remains underway. The Starliner capsule returned to Earth in September without people aboard.
Now, NASA’s next quartet of astronauts bound for the ISS are scheduled to fly into Kennedy Space Center on Friday, then launch on March 12 from pad 39A aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket.
After a "handover period" of several days aboard the orbiting outpost, Wilmore and Williams will join the two Crew-9 members — NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov — for a return trip inside the Dragon with splashdown off the Florida coastline.
State of the State 2025: Gov. DeSantis outlines plans on property taxes, insurance
Floridians will eventually see lower property taxes, business tax cuts, budget cuts and new restrictions on petitions for constitutional amendments – if lawmakers follow Gov. Ron DeSantis’ agenda for the legislative session.
DeSantis laid out his proposals in a 30-minute State of the State speech to the Legislature on Tuesday, the first day of the 60-day regular legislative session.
He touched on an array of previous legislative victories, careful to note the GOP-led Legislature’s role. DeSantis enters this session after signing a new law last month to stiffen immigration enforcement by state and local law enforcement.
The Republican members who enjoy a supermajority in the Legislature will likely accommodate many of his recommendations. But DeSantis’ agenda could meet some resistance in a Legislature that is more prepared to push back on his plans than in recent years.
House Majority Leader Sirois asks that Rockledge Hospital delay its planned April 22 closing
Florida House Majority Leader Tyler Sirois met with top officials of Orlando Health, asking them to delay the planned April 22 closing of Rockledge Hospital, which the company says is in too poor a physical condition to safely stay open.
Meanwhile, the Rockledge City Council is holding a special meeting Thursday evening to discuss the looming closing of the 298-bed hospital. The council plans to vote on a resolution "strongly encouraging" Orlando Health to postpone the closing by at least two years "for the health and safety of the community."
Sirois said he told Orlando Health president and CEO David Strong that it was unacceptable how Orlando Health bought the hospital in October from Steward Health Care, then announced in February that it was closing the hospital on April 22, giving the community and the hospital's 940 employees little notice.
Sirois said they listened to his concerns but didn't commit to delaying the hospital’s closing.
Late-night fire leaves at least 2 injured in Palm Bay
Palm Bay Police and fire officials are working to piece together details of a house fire that left at least two people injured late Monday.
The fire swept through the one-story concrete home in the southeast section of the city about 11:50 p.m. Monday.
At least one medical helicopter was called to a nearby site to transport an injured person to a hospital. The conditions of those transported were not immediately known.
An investigation is underway into the exact cause of fire. It was not immediately known if a criminal investigation was also being conducted.
More: FloridaToday.com