A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) early Sunday, delivering a fresh crew to replace two NASA astronauts who have been stranded aboard the station for more than nine months.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were originally scheduled for a brief roundtrip aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in June 2024, have been unable to return after propulsion issues rendered the vehicle unsafe for their journey back to Earth. Their long-awaited relief arrived at 05:45 GMT when the SpaceX capsule, carrying four new crew members, securely connected to the ISS.
Live footage broadcast by NASA showed the moment the arriving astronauts embraced their ISS counterparts in the weightlessness of space.
“It’s a wonderful day, and it’s great to see our friends arrive,” Williams said after greeting her replacements.
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shared footage of the Crew Dragon’s approach as the ISS orbited Earth, marking a key moment in the complex mission to retrieve the long-overdue astronauts.
Wilmore and Williams’ extended stay significantly exceeded the typical six-month rotation for ISS crews. However, their nine-month mission is still well short of the 371-day U.S. spaceflight record set by NASA astronaut Frank Rubio in 2023 or the world record of 437 days set by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov aboard the Mir space station.
The prolonged mission, which left the duo unexpectedly away from family, required them to receive additional clothing and personal items to accommodate their extended time in space. Their situation has drawn global interest and sympathy.
Now that their replacements have arrived, Wilmore and Williams will begin preparations for their long-awaited return. They are scheduled to splash down off the Florida coast no sooner than March 19, aboard the returning Crew Dragon capsule.
Joining them on the journey home will be NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, further highlighting ongoing international collaboration aboard the ISS.
The incoming Crew-10 team—composed of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov—launched from Kennedy Space Center on Friday.
Their mission includes conducting vital scientific experiments, such as flammability tests for future spacecraft designs and studies on how space travel affects the human body. These investigations will help pave the way for long-term space missions, including potential journeys to Mars.
