NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore were initially scheduled to spend only eight days aboard the International Space Station (ISS). However, due to technical failures with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, their return was indefinitely delayed. Now, after nine months in space, the pair is finally set to come home aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.
On Friday night, a SpaceX rocket successfully launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to bring the astronauts back.
NASA announced the mission’s success on X, stating: “Have a great time in space, y’all! #Crew10 lifted off from @NASAKennedy at 7:03 pm ET (2303 UTC) on Friday, March 14.” SpaceX also confirmed the launch, writing: “Liftoff of Crew-1.”
Boeing Starliner’s Technical Failures
Williams and Wilmore originally launched on June 5, 2024, aboard Boeing’s Starliner, which was meant to serve as an alternative to SpaceX Crew Dragon for future ISS missions. The mission was supposed to last just over a week, primarily to test Starliner’s performance.
