March 16 (UPI) -- Four new astronauts arrived at the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon on Sunday. Their arrival finally provides a way home for two NASA astronauts who have been on the ISS since June 2024.
The Crew-10 astronauts include NASA's Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, who entered the space station shortly after 1:35 a.m. EDT with Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
They were welcomed by the current ISS crew, including NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Their arrival means Williams and Wilmore can safely return home after a mission that has lasted longer than initially planned.
Williams and Wilmore were originally part of the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test that launched at 10:52 a.m. EDT on June 5, 2024, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The test aimed to validate the Starliner's capabilities for transporting crew to and from the ISS, serving as a critical step in NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
As the Starliner approached the ISS, it encountered technical challenges, including the malfunction of several aft-facing reaction control system thrusters, but it was ultimately able to dock with the ISS the next day.
Williams and Wilmore were originally supposed to stay just eight days at the ISS, but their stay was extended as authorities on the ground evaluated solutions to bring them home.
Eventually, NASA deemed it too risky for the pair to return aboard the Starliner, which returned to Earth uncrewed on September 7, 2024.
The space agency then explored alternative options to bring them home, including SpaceX's Crew-9 mission, which launched on September 28, 2024. However, to maintain a full crew complement on the ISS, Williams and Wilmore remained aboard until the arrival of Crew-10.
With the arrival of Crew-10, Williams and Wilmore are now scheduled to return home, concluding their extended mission aboard the ISS.