After spending months on a week-long mission, Sunita Williams finally meets the SpaceX capsule that will bring her back from space

After months of waiting, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stuck aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since June 2024, finally welcomed their new ride home on Sunday with the arrival of a SpaceX Dragon capsule. The mission, launched on Saturday, marked a critical milestone in their extended stay in space, with plans to bring them back to Earth early next year.

The rescue mission began after NASA encountered serious concerns with the Boeing Starliner capsule, which had originally ferried Williams and Wilmore to the ISS. The Starliner, on its first crewed test flight, faced multiple issues after launch, including thruster failures and helium leaks, leading NASA to deem it too risky to bring the astronauts back to Earth. As a result, Starliner was returned to Earth empty earlier this month, leaving Williams and Wilmore stranded aboard the ISS.

Wilmore and Williams, originally scheduled for a brief, week-long mission, have now been at the ISS for over three months, with their return delayed until February 2025. NASA’s decision to switch the astronauts to SpaceX’s Dragon capsule extended their mission to over eight months. "Wilmore and Williams will continue their work formally as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew through February 2025. They will fly home aboard a Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members," NASA announced.

The arrival of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission, commanded by NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, provided a much-needed boost for the stranded astronauts. The Dragon capsule docked with the ISS in the darkness, 420 kilometres above Earth, over Botswana, signalling a new phase in the ongoing mission.

As Hague and Gorbunov stepped aboard the ISS, they were warmly welcomed by the Expedition 72 crew, including Williams and Wilmore. The NASA Johnson Space Center shared the moment on social media, writing, "The official welcome! The Expedition 72 crew welcomed #Crew9, @NASAAstronauts Nick Hague, the Crew 9 commander, and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, the Crew 9 mission specialist, after their flight aboard the @SpaceX Dragon spacecraft."

The SpaceX rescue mission faced its own challenges leading up to the launch. Initially delayed by high winds and rains from Hurricane Helene, the Falcon 9 rocket finally lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after a two-day delay. Despite a smooth ascent, SpaceX reported that the rocket’s upper stage ended up outside its targeted impact zone in the Pacific due to a faulty engine firing, leading the company to temporarily halt Falcon launches until the issue is resolved.

The addition of Hague and Gorbunov brings the number of crew members aboard the ISS to 11, a temporary increase until the Expedition 72 members, who have been on the station since March, return to Earth in early October aboard another SpaceX capsule. While NASA typically rotates its station crews every six months, the delays and complications with Boeing’s Starliner have significantly extended the missions for Wilmore and Williams.

Sunita Williams, a seasoned astronaut with an extensive history of spaceflights, and Butch Wilmore, a NASA veteran, have continued their work aboard the ISS despite the uncertainty surrounding their return. The decision to leave them aboard the station was not made lightly, with NASA emphasising that the safety of the astronauts was its top priority. "It’s too risky to bring Wilmore and Williams back to Earth on the Starliner," NASA said in a statement last month.

NASA’s confidence in SpaceX has been growing since the company’s first astronaut flight in 2020. While Boeing was initially contracted to provide ferry services to the ISS alongside SpaceX, the delays and issues with Starliner have led to more reliance on Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The delays have cost Boeing over $1 billion in repairs and years of setbacks. However, NASA's associate administrator Jim Free remained hopeful, saying, "We're a long way from saying, 'Hey, we're writing off Boeing.'"

As the astronauts aboard the ISS await their return in 2025, the arrival of the SpaceX Dragon capsule is a reminder of the complexities and risks of space travel. For Wilmore and Williams, what began as a routine test flight has turned into an extended mission, one that will end in triumph once they return safely to Earth.

(With inputs from agencies)