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The Expedition 72 crew welcomes Crew-9 commander Nick Hague and mission specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov, after their flight aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule. (Image: @NASA_Johnson/X)
Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore got stuck at the ISS due to safety concerns with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft and will now return with the Crew-9 mission in February next year
A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked at the International Space Station on Sunday, launching two Crew-9 astronauts who will bring back Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore — stranded at the orbiting facility, awaiting their return to Earth since June.
The space capsule, which is part of the Crew-9 mission, launched on Saturday (September 28) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying NASA’s Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, reported CNN.
It has been designated for the rescue mission of Williams and Wilmore, who were initially expected to spend just over a week in space. They got stuck at the International Space Station (ISS) due to safety concerns with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft and will now return with Hague and Gorbunov in February next year.
According to NASA, Hague and Gorbunov boarded the ISS shortly after their capsule docked there at 9.30 pm GMT.
Williams and Wilmore — two former military test pilots — were the first crew to fly on the troubled Starliner on what was supposed to be an eight-day mission, which has turned into an eight-month ordeal. The SpaceX Crew-9 mission was supposed to transport four astronauts to the ISS until two empty seats had to be opened up for the two stranded astronauts.
The Starliner capsule suffered thruster failures and helium leaks, following which NASA decided it was not safe for the astronauts to return on it, and it was sent back to Earth empty earlier this month.
(With agency inputs)
Read More: SpaceX Capsule Docks At ISS, Rescue Mission For Stranded Astronauts Sunita Williams & Butch
