SpaceX and NASA successfully launched the Crew-10 mission from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 14, 2025. With a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon spacecraft, the Elon Musk-owned space company sent four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) to replace NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. They have been on the ISS for nine months due to technical issues with their return spacecraft.
The new crew consists of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Kirill Peskov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. The Crew-10’s Crew Dragon capsule (named Endurance) is scheduled to dock with ISS’s Harmony module on March 15 at approximately 11:30 PM ET.
Watch Falcon 9 launch Dragon and Crew-10 to the @Space_Station → https://t.co/VPdhVwQFNJ https://t.co/ZeAFaKzKD0
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 14, 2025
Since the spacecraft is now securely docked, the hatches (doors) between Endurance and the ISS have been opened. This will allow astronauts aboard Endurance to enter the ISS.
Interestingly, the newly arrived astronauts will spend a few days together with the current crew before some of the existing crew members (including Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov) leave and return to Earth. They will be using the Crew-9 Dragon capsule for the same. Their undocking is planned for March 19, with a return to Earth expected around March 20 or 21. But it depends on the weather conditions. If the weather is unfavourable, their return might be delayed.
Speaking of the background, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore travelled to the International Space Station (ISS) in June 2024 as part of the first crewed mission using Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. First, the mission encountered technical issues, including helium leaks and thruster malfunctions, which delayed the spacecraft’s planned docking with the ISS.
Despite these challenges, Starliner eventually docked, allowing Williams and Wilmore to board the station. However, due to unresolved technical problems, NASA and Boeing decided in August 2024 to return Starliner to Earth without crew to ensure astronaut safety.
Then to facilitate the astronauts’ return, NASA and SpaceX adjusted the Crew-9 mission to include Williams and Wilmore. Originally, Crew-9 was supposed to carry four astronauts to the ISS. However, to make room for Williams and Wilmore on the return trip, NASA removed two astronauts from the Crew-9 flight. NASA had planned for a return flight in February 2025.
Meanwhile, the extended stay of Williams and Wilmore on the ISS has been challenging, but they have continued to support essential tasks and experiments during this period.
