 "Nasa, SpaceX launch crew swap mission to bring back Sunita Williams, Butch Willmore. File image. Courtesy: X/@Commercial_Crew")
SpaceX launched its Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station on Saturday morning, which is set to bring NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth.
The two astronauts have been stranded in space for the past nine months since June last year.
The four Crew-10 astronauts will replace Crew-9, including Williams and Wilmore, who have been stranded.
The launch was delayed earlier in the week due to technical issues and high winds.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket took off from Florida at 7:03 PM ET (4:33 AM IST). Crew-10 consists of four astronauts.
Cosmonaut Mission Specialist Kirill Peskov of Roscosmos (Russia), Pilot Nichole Ayers and Commander Anne McClain of the United States, and Mission Specialist Takuya Onishi of Japan’s JAXA are onboard the rocket. They will replace the stranded astronauts.
Williams and Wilmore became stuck after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were testing on its maiden crewed flight developed propulsion issues and was deemed unfit to fly them back.
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The mission, which is already catching attention worldwide, took a political turn when US President Donald Trump and SpaceX’s Elon Musk promised to speed up their return. Trump also balmed the previous Joe Biden administration for the delay.