SpaceX readies launch to rescue two astronauts — here is how it played out

Elon Musk and SpaceX are looking to bring Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams, the pair of U.S. astronauts that have been in space much longer than NASA originally planned, back to Earth soon. 

Musk told FOX Business’ Larry Kudlow earlier in the week that his aerospace company is “bringing them back in a few weeks.” 

In collaboration with NASA, SpaceX is scheduled Wednesday evening to launch its Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket from the U.S. space agency’s Kennedy Space Center for the Crew-10 Mission bound for the International Space Station orbiting some 250 miles above Earth. 

That mission, transporting a four-person crew meant to replace NASA’s Crew-9 currently on the ISS, is expected to usher in Wilmore and Williams’ long-awaited homecoming.

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The two astronauts have spent over nine months on the International Space Station since arriving there June 6 last year. NASA had originally planned for Wilmore and Williams’ time at the ISS to only last about a week. 

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft had transported the pair of astronauts from Earth to the ISS. However, it ended up coming back to Earth unmanned in September. 

In August, when NASA announced the spacecraft would return without Wilmore and Williams onboard, the space agency said the spacecraft’s unmanned return would let it and Boeing “continue to gather testing data on Starliner during its upcoming flight home, while also not accepting more risk than necessary for its crew” after Starliner had “helium leaks” and “issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters” while docking with the ISS in June. 

The two astronauts became part of the Expedition 71/72 crews, with NASA saying at the time that it was aiming to return them to Earth alongside two members of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission in early 2025. 

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksanr Gorbunov, the Crew-9 members, arrived at the ISS in late September. 

Hague, Wilmore and Williams have done 900-plus hours of research during their time on the ISS, NASA said late last week. 

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If the SpaceX Crew-10 launch takes off as scheduled Wednesday evening, its crew is supposed to get to the ISS the following morning, according to the space agency. 

“Here in a few short days Crew-10 is going to arrive,” Hague said last week from the ISS. “And we are going to hand the baton to Crew-10, and we are going to return to Earth at the end of a successful long-duration mission aboard the space station.” 

NASA said in a recent blog post that there will be a “handover period” with the SpaceX Crew-10 before Wilmore, Williams, Hague and Gorbunov leave the ISS. Reports suggest their planetside return could occur as early as Sunday. 

Another SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will carry them back to Earth, according to the space agency.  

NASA said Crew-10 will “perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities aboard the microgravity laboratory” while living on the ISS.

Wednesday’s evening planned launch will mark Dragon’s tenth operational human spaceflight mission, according to SpaceX. 

“Weather officials predict more than a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions at Launch Complex 39A for the liftoff of @SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft carrying #Crew10 to the @Space_Station,” the Kennedy Space Center posted Wednesday on X. 

SpaceX’s nearly 27-foot-tall Dragon spacecraft was built with room for up to seven passengers.