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NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 headed for the ISS
Four crew members of NASA's Crew-10 mission launched at 7:03 p.m. from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and are headed for the International Space Station.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A SpaceX crew capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, delivering the crew that will replace NASA’s two stuck astronauts.
The four newcomers — representing the U.S., Japan and Russia — will spend the next few days learning the station’s ins and outs from Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Then the two will strap into their own SpaceX capsule later this week, one that has been up there since last year, to close out an unexpected extended mission that began last June.
Wilmore swung open the space station's hatch and then rang the ship's bell as the new arrivals floated in one by one and were greeted with hugs and handshakes. A video posted on X by NASA showed astronaut Nick Hague greeting the new arrivals wearing a grey alien mask.
What they're saying:
"It was a wonderful day. Great to see our friends arrive," Williams told Mission Control.
The four SpaceX Crew-10 members and the seven Expedition 72 crew members join each other for a welcoming ceremony shortly after the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft docked to the International Space Station and the hatches opened. NASA
The backstory:
Wilmore and Williams expected to be gone just a week when they launched on Boeing’s first astronaut flight. They hit the nine-month mark earlier this month.
RELATED: NASA, SpaceX launch Crew-10 from Florida to relieve stranded astronauts at space station
The Boeing Starliner capsule encountered so many problems that NASA insisted it come back empty, leaving its test pilots behind to wait for a SpaceX lift.
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Two NASA astronauts stuck on ISS give interview
Two NASA astronauts, Barry E. Wilmore and Sunita Williams, on board the International Space Station, gave an interview to media on Friday, discussing everything from voting from space to being stuck at the ISS for months into 2025.
Wilmore's and Williams' ride arrived back in late September with a downsized crew of two and two empty seats reserved for the leg back. But more delays resulted when their replacements’ brand new capsule needed extensive battery repairs. An older capsule took its place, pushing up their return by a couple weeks to mid-March.
What's next:
Weather permitting, the SpaceX capsule carrying Wilmore, Williams and two other astronauts will undock from the space station no earlier than Wednesday and splash down off Florida's coast.
Until then, there will be 11 aboard the orbiting lab, representing the U.S., Russia and Japan.
The Source: The Associated Press contributed to this report. The information in this story comes from a combination of NASA reports and updates, as well as social media posts. This story was reported from Los Angeles.