NASA and SpaceX successfully launched a critical mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, aiming to relieve astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams after a nine-month delay in their return to Earth. The Crew-10 mission marked a pivotal moment in resolving one of NASA's most prolonged crew rotation challenges.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:03 p.m. local time, carrying four astronauts to replace Wilmore and Williams. The veteran NASA astronauts had traveled to the ISS in June aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule — its inaugural crewed flight — but technical issues with the spacecraft's propulsion system forced an indefinite extension of their mission. NASA later ruled Starliner unsafe for their return, opting to bring the capsule back to Earth uncrewed in September.
While Crew-10 represents a routine rotation flight, its success directly enables Wilmore and Williams to finally return home. The new crew is scheduled to dock with the ISS on Saturday night, beginning a week-long handover before the stranded astronauts depart on March 19. The mission underscores growing reliance on commercial space partners like SpaceX amid ongoing efforts to ensure safe crewed space exploration.
