For space enthusiasts, it’s been a while since we last had any news-breaking insights in the industry since SpaceX’s success with a reusable booster. However, for those of us keeping an eye on space news, the predicament of Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has been on our minds–What’s the way forward? How and when will they come back? Well, guess what? Help finally arrived! SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission successfully docked at the ISS.
A Mission That Was Never Meant to Last This Long
Williams and Wilmore initially launched to the ISS in June 2024 aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The mission was intended to be a short-duration test flight, proving Starliner’s capability to ferry astronauts to and from the space station. However, things didn’t quite go as planned when technical failures deemed the spacecraft unfit for human travel. Boeing, thus returned the Starliner uncrewed to Earth in September 2024, leaving both astronauts stranded in orbit.
It’s been Nine months since then, and after multiple mission delays and logistical hurdles, NASA finally greenlit the Crew-10 mission, with the primary goal of replacing the current crew on the ISS and ensuring Williams and Wilmore get a safe ride home.
The Crew-10 Rescue Mission
On March 14, 2025, SpaceX launched the Crew-10 mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The crew, composed of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, successfully docked at the ISS two days later, on March 16. Their arrival, as you can imagine, was met with warm embraces and evident relief from the station’s current crew, particularly Williams and Wilmore, who have had an unexpectedly extended stay in space.
Plan for Their Return
Williams and Wilmore are scheduled to depart the ISS on March 19, 2025, aboard the SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon capsule. The spacecraft will autonomously undock from the station and begin its descent back to Earth, where, in a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean the capsule will be retrieved. The astronauts will undergo some medical evaluations and rehabilitation to counteract the effects of their prolonged stay in space.
The Crew-10 mission highlights both the unpredictability and resilience of human spaceflight. Boeing’s Starliner issues serve as a stark reminder that even in an era of advanced space technology, challenges persist. On the flip side, it also showcases the incredible teamwork and international collaboration that make space missions possible.
For now, all eyes are on March 19, when Williams and Wilmore will finally set foot back on Earth after an extended mission they never anticipated. And as always, space continues to remind us that while the sky may be the limit, the universe is the true frontier.
Crew-10 Docking the International Space Station.
