Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore can finally return to Earth later this week after the SpaceX capsule with Crew-10 docked at the International Space Station on Sunday.
The four-person crew from the US, Japan, and Russia will replace the two NASA astronauts, who were stuck at the ISS after a routine short mission last year turned into an extended stay of over nine months.
After transferring knowledge of the station to the newcomers, Williams, Wilmore, and two others will use the SpaceX capsule to return to Earth, splashing down off the coast of Florida in the US.
If all goes well, they are expected to undock by coming Wednesday.
Williams and Wilmore set off on a week-to-ten-day-long journey on June 5, 2024, aboard the maiden manned flight of Boeing Starliner. But when engineers discovered helium leaks and thruster issues in the Starliner’s propulsion system, it led to a delay in their return.
Once NASA determined that Starliner could not be used for their journey back, they tried to bring them home using a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule—impacting timelines of multiple missions, including Crew-9 and Crew-10.
The Crew-9 mission under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program was launched in late September 2024, carrying only two astronauts—NASA’s Nick Hague and Roscosmos’ Aleksandr Gorbunov.
The other two seats were kept empty for Williams and Wilmore’s return. However, before they could leave, a replacement crew had to arrive at the ISS to take over their responsibilities—that was Crew-10.
The ripple effect of the initial delay further pushed the Crew-10 launch. Finally, earlier on Sunday, the replacement crew finally arrived. And now, Williams and Wilmore can head back to Earth.
