NASA and SpaceX have successfully launched a long-anticipated crewed mission to bring back US astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months.
A Falcon 9 rocket, with a Crew Dragon capsule securely mounted on top, lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:03 PM (local time) on Friday. The mission, known as Crew-10, is carrying a four-member team bound for the ISS to replace the outgoing crew.
The new crew consists of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. Once their spacecraft docks at the ISS on March 15, they will spend a few days adjusting before assuming operational control from the departing Crew-9 team.
Crew-9, which includes Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, and two other astronauts, is scheduled to return to Earth no sooner than March 19.
Delayed Launch Successfully Resolved
NASA and SpaceX had initially planned to launch Crew-10 on March 12, but a last-minute technical issue with the rocket’s ground systems forced a delay. The issue was identified as a suspected pocket of air within a hydraulic clamp arm, which was successfully resolved on March 13.
Following the resolution, NASA confirmed that weather conditions were highly favorable, with a 95% chance of a successful launch on March 15.
This mission marks another significant milestone in NASA and SpaceX’s continued collaboration to maintain seamless operations aboard the ISS, ensuring a safe transition of crew members and advancing research in space exploration.
