Space crew docks at ISS to replace 2 astronauts stranded for 9 months
SpaceX successfully delivered four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) in a NASA crew-swap mission early Sunday morning. This mission marks the return of stuck astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams after spending nine months on the orbiting lab. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked at the ISS just after midnight ET Sunday, 29 hours after its launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The new team was warmly welcomed by the station’s seven-member crew, which includes Wilmore and Williams. The veteran NASA astronauts had been stranded at the station due to issues with Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which had to be brought back empty last August. The ISS crew eagerly awaited the arrival of the new team, capturing the moment on camera as the astronauts greeted each other with hugs, smiles, and laughter. Williams could be seen dancing and waving her hands as her fellow crew members boarded the ISS through the hatch.
After posing for photos and sharing reflections on their journey, NASA astronaut Anne McClain expressed her awe at the amazing experience. The Crew-10 mission is a crucial step in bringing Wilmore and Williams back to Earth, following a plan set by NASA last year and given increased urgency by U.S. President Donald Trump since taking office in January.
Wilmore and Williams are scheduled to depart the ISS on Wednesday, along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Hague and Gorbunov arrived at the ISS in September on a Crew Dragon craft with two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams. The Crew-10 team, slated to stay on the station for approximately six months, includes McClain, NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
The crew-swap mission became embroiled in politics as Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk pushed for a quicker Crew-10 launch, claiming, without evidence, that President Biden had abandoned Wilmore and Williams for political reasons. Despite the political drama, Wilmore and Williams have been diligently conducting scientific research and performing routine maintenance alongside their fellow astronauts on the ISS.
Williams expressed her excitement about returning home to reunite with her two dogs and family, acknowledging the roller coaster of emotions they have experienced during their extended stay in space. The successful completion of the crew-swap mission paves the way for new scientific discoveries and advancements in space exploration as the ISS continues to serve as a hub for international collaboration in space research.
