Space crew docks at ISS to replace 2 astronauts stranded for 9 months

3 week_ago 15

A SpaceX capsule delivered 4 astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) early Sunday successful a NASA crew-swap ngo that volition let a brace of stuck astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, to instrumentality location aft 9 months connected the orbiting lab.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked astatine the ISS just aft midnight ET Sunday, 29 hours aft it launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center successful Florida.

The caller squad was welcomed by the station's seven-member crew, which includes Wilmore and Williams, who are some seasoned NASA astronauts and person been stuck astatine the presumption aft problems with Boeing's Starliner capsule forced NASA to bring it backmost bare past August.

The ISS unit waited with cameras successful manus by the capsule's hatch successful anticipation of welcoming the arrival, arsenic seen connected NASA's unrecorded video stream. The astronauts greeted each different with hugs, smiles, and laughter. Williams could beryllium seen dancing and waving her hands arsenic the unit of 4 boarded the ISS through the hatch.

Watch the <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Crew10?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Crew10</a> members participate the abstraction presumption and articulation the Exp 72 unit for a long-duration abstraction probe mission. <a href="https://t.co/WHpxBz51Ts">https://t.co/WHpxBz51Ts</a> <a href="https://t.co/WHpxBz51Ts">https://t.co/WHpxBz51Ts</a>

—@Space_Station

The astronauts past posed for photos and shared reflections connected the flight.

"That is specified an astonishing journey, you tin hardly adjacent enactment it into words," said NASA astronaut Anne McClain.

The Crew-10 ngo is simply a long-awaited archetypal measurement to bring Wilmore and Williams backmost to Earth, part of a program acceptable by NASA past twelvemonth that has been fixed greater urgency by U.S. President Donald Trump since helium took bureau successful January.

Two radical beryllium unneurotic successful a spaceship, some wearing spacesuits.

Wilmore and Williams are scheduled to depart the ISS connected Wednesday arsenic aboriginal arsenic 4 a.m. ET, on with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Hague and Gorbunov flew to the ISS successful September connected a Crew Dragon trade with 2 bare seats for Wilmore and Williams, and that trade has been attached to the presumption since.

Sunday's Crew-10 team, scheduled to enactment connected the presumption for astir six months, includes McClain, NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.

Two astronauts successful bluish abstraction suits against a bluish background.

The crew-swap ngo became entangled successful authorities arsenic Trump and his advisor Elon Musk, who is besides SpaceX's CEO, urged a quicker Crew-10 launch.

The duo claimed, without evidence, that Trump's predecessor Joe Biden had abandoned Wilmore and Williams connected the presumption for governmental reasons.

Having seen their ngo crook into a mean NASA rotation to the ISS, Wilmore and Williams person been doing technological probe and conducting regular attraction with the different 5 astronauts.

Williams told reporters earlier this period that she was looking guardant to returning location to spot her 2 dogs and family.

"It's been a roller coaster for them, astir apt a small spot much truthful than for us," she said.

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