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SpaceX’s Crew-10 launched into space Friday to bring home two NASA astronauts who have been stuck at the International Space Station (ISS) since June 6.
The crew of four geared up in the “suit-up room” amid photos of the Apollo crew, before driving to the launchpad in multiple Teslas adorned with “LIF10FF” license plates — an ode to the mission number.
Each astronaut received a medical check before being briefed by SpaceX and NASA. Later, they partook in various traditions, including a card game to eliminate any bad luck.
The launch to rescue Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams was initially planned for Wednesday, but a hydraulic ground issue halted the mission just minutes before takeoff.
NASA livestreamers said there was a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions Friday afternoon, the same probability announced by SpaceX on Wednesday prior to the previous delay.
Following the launch, NASA officials said it was the right decision to delay the mission until weather conditions were optimum.
SpaceX launched its Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket just after 7 p.m. from the U.S. space agency’s Kennedy Space Center, in collaboration with NASA.
Commander Anne McClain, pilot Nichole Ayers, mission specialist Takuya Onishi, and mission specialist Kirill Peskov will replace SpaceX’s Crew-9, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksanr Gorbuno, who arrived in space in late September.
They also aim to rescue Wilmore and Williams — who were only slated to be at the ISS for about a week in June before an issue emerged with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which returned to Earth unmanned in September.
Hague, Wilmore and Williams have completed more than 900 hours of research during their time on the ISS, NASA announced late last week.
In August, NASA said the additional time the stranded astronauts would spend at the station enabled it and Boeing to “continue to gather testing data on Starliner during its upcoming flight home, while also not accepting more risk than necessary for its crew.”
The Starliner had “helium leaks” and “issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters” while docking with the ISS in June, according to previous reporting.
A two-day “handover period” will take place with Crew-10 before Wilmore, Williams, Hague and Gorbunov leave the ISS, NASA reported. Crew-10 and Dragon are expected to reach the ISS around 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
They will return to Earth, in another SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, as soon as Sunday, according to officials.
While in space, Crew-10 will “perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities aboard the microgravity laboratory,” NASA said.
Friday’s launch was Dragon’s 10th operational human spaceflight mission. The nearly 27-foot spacecraft was built with room for up to seven passengers.
In a news conference Friday following the launch, officials said NASA, a nonpartisan agency, appreciates the support from the current administration.
“Our presidents always care a lot about what happens at NASA, and it’s great to see that that trend continue with our current president,” one NASA official said. “He injects a lot of energy into our thought processes and that’s been helpful for us.”
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had not commented on his social media platform, X, about the successful launch as of 10 p.m. Friday.
