An upcoming routine SpaceX mission is set to transport astronauts to the International Space Station, but this mission holds extra significance. When Crew-10 launches, it will mark an important step for the crew of the Boeing Starliner, who have been stranded at the space station since June due to issues with the Starliner spacecraft. Originally part of the Crew-9 mission, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams had to wait for their return journey as the Crew-9 astronauts completed their own mission and awaited their successors.
Now, with the Crew-10 mission on the horizon, Wilmore and Williams may finally be able to return to Earth. Crew-10 will travel to the space station aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, potentially ending the Starliner saga. This mission is part of SpaceX’s rotation missions to the ISS under NASA’s commercial crew program, allowing SpaceX to transport astronauts and cargo to orbit.
The Crew-10 mission consists of four spacefarers: Mission Commander NASA astronaut Anne McClain, Mission Pilot NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. The launch of Crew-10 is scheduled for March 12, following delays from its original February launch date. The mission will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and is expected to arrive at the ISS the next day.
The launch of the new Dragon capsule had been rescheduled to late March by SpaceX for additional preparation time. However, the launch date was moved back to mid-March, possibly due to pressure from President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, when NASA opted to use a previously flown Dragon named Endurance. As for the return of Starliner astronauts with Crew-9, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were seen walking at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in anticipation of the Starliner-1 Crew Flight Test mission. If Crew-10 launches as planned, the Starliner crew could return to Earth on Sunday, March 16, after a brief handover period with the arriving astronauts. Williams and Wilmore, part of the Starliner crew, would depart the space station with Crew-9, including NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Once Crew-9 undocks, they would land off the Florida coast. Additionally, the Crew-10 astronauts have arrived at the Kennedy Space Center and participated in a dress rehearsal for their upcoming launch to the International Space Station on March 12. The team has been in communication with the Crew-9 astronauts, preparing for their mission. SpaceX has also conducted a static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for the launch. Commander Anne McClain expressed readiness for the upcoming adventure and bringing Crew-9 home.
