A fresh crew of astronauts has successfully arrived at the International Space Station (ISS), marking the start of a long-anticipated transition that will allow NASA’s Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to return home after their originally planned short stay extended into a nine-month mission.
The Crew-10 mission, operated jointly by NASA and SpaceX, launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:03 p.m. ET on Friday. Aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, four astronauts—NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov—docked with the ISS at approximately 12:04 a.m. ET on Sunday.
Their arrival kicks off a brief “handover” period with the Crew-9 team, including Williams, Wilmore, NASA’s Nick Hague, and Roscosmos’ Aleksandr Gorbunov. Once the transition is complete, the Crew-9 astronauts will board their Dragon capsule and return to Earth, with a target departure as early as March 19.
While the Crew-9 return was initially expected sooner, delays in the Crew-10 launch, including a last-minute cancellation due to technical issues with SpaceX’s launchpad, pushed the timeline back. These delays have sparked political discussions and public speculation about Williams and Wilmore being “stuck” in space—claims the astronauts have firmly rejected.
“That’s been the narrative from day one: stranded, abandoned, stuck — and I get it, we both get it,” Wilmore said in a February interview with CNN. “Help us change the narrative… to prepared and committed despite what you’ve been hearing.”
Despite the controversy, NASA officials emphasize that the extended stay was always part of contingency planning. Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro acknowledged the astronauts might have mixed emotions about leaving.
“Every time you get to go to space, you never know—it might be your last time,” Petro said. “I’m sure they’re anxious to get home… but I think they have enjoyed their time in space.”
With Crew-10 now onboard, the final stretch of Williams and Wilmore’s mission is set to begin, bringing an end to what has been an eventful and closely watched journey.
