NASA-SpaceX Crew-10 mission nears ISS docking; to bring home Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore

Crew-10 was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday.

The NASA-SpaceX Crew-10 mission is set to reach a key milestone as its Crew Dragon spacecraft prepares for "rendezvous, docking, and hatch opening" with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday. This mission will facilitate the return of US astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore, who have been stranded in space due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

According to NASA’s schedule, the Crew Dragon is expected to dock at the ISS at 11:30 p.m. EDT on March 16, with the hatch opening scheduled for 1:05 a.m. EDT. The newly arrived Crew-10 astronauts will be welcomed aboard, while Crew-9 is set to deliver farewell remarks at 1:40 a.m. EDT.

Crew-10 was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday. Roughly 10 minutes after liftoff, the Crew Dragon capsule separated from the rocket’s upper stage, successfully beginning its journey toward the ISS.

The mission crew consists of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. Their arrival will momentarily increase the number of astronauts aboard the ISS to 11.

As part of NASA’s continuous crew rotation on the ISS, Crew-10 will undergo a two-day handover period before Wilmore and Williams can depart. The returning astronauts are expected to journey back to Earth no earlier than Wednesday aboard a SpaceX capsule.

NASA will monitor weather conditions at potential splashdown sites off Florida’s coast to ensure a safe landing.

Williams and Wilmore originally reached the ISS in June aboard Boeing’s Starliner, intending to stay for just a week. However, due to technical malfunctions with Starliner, NASA deemed the spacecraft unsafe for their return, forcing an unexpected extension of their mission to nearly nine months.

While aboard the ISS, Crew-10 will engage in scientific research focused on lunar navigation, material flammability, and the human body's response to extended spaceflight. The team is scheduled to remain on the ISS for approximately six months before the next crew rotation.