A SpaceX spacecraft successfully transported four astronauts to the International Space Station early on Sunday as part of a NASA crew exchange mission. The arrival of the Crew-10 astronauts to the ISS marked the beginning of plans to bring back astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who had been stuck on the orbiting lab for nine months. The docking of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule to the ISS occurred about 29 hours after its launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday evening.
The Crew-10 astronauts were greeted by the station’s seven-member crew, which included Wilmore and Williams, experienced NASA astronauts who had remained on the station due to issues with Boeing’s Starliner capsule. Scheduled to depart the ISS on Wednesday, Wilmore and Williams will return to Earth alongside NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
The Crew-10 mission, initially a routine crew rotation, gained significance as part of a plan set by NASA last year and was emphasized by President Donald Trump. The crew, set to spend approximately six months on the station, consists of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
The crew exchange mission faced political complexities as Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pushed for an expedited launch, alleging, without evidence, that political motives had led to Wilmore and Williams being left on the station. Despite the political entanglements, Wilmore and Williams have been actively engaged in scientific research and station maintenance alongside their fellow crew members.
Williams expressed her anticipation of reuniting with her family and dogs upon returning home, acknowledging the challenges they had faced during their extended stay on the ISS.
