SpaceX and NASA successfully launched the Crew-10 mission on Friday at 7:03 ET, aiming to bring back U.S. astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months.
The mission utilised a Falcon 9 rocket to carry the Dragon spacecraft into orbit.
Alongside the rescue effort, the mission also delivered four new crew members to the ISS: NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
Crew-10 marks the 10th crew rotation mission under SpaceX’s human spaceflight programme and the 11th crewed flight to the ISS as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, including the Demo-2 test flight.
Williams and Wilmore had initially travelled to the ISS in June last year with plans for a week-long stay. However, unforeseen technical challenges left them on the station for an extended duration.
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Ahead of the launch, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared a video message expressing support for the mission.
“We are praying for you,” he said. “We wish you Godspeed and look forward to welcoming you home soon.”
Hegseth also noted that former President Donald Trump had encouraged SpaceX founder Elon Musk to prioritize the astronauts’ safe return.
“President Trump said to Elon Musk, ‘Get the astronauts home and do it now,’ and they’re responding,” he said.
