SpaceX and NASA join hands to bring back astronauts Sunita Williams from…, they may return on…

NASA astronauts JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov and Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers have been sent to the International Space Station.

In the latest development regarding the homecoming of United States astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, SpaceX and NASA have collaborated to launch a major mission to bring them back from the International Space Station (ISS). Sunita and Butch have been stranded at the ISS for nine months. The Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Dragon spacecraft on the Crew-10 mission, lifted off at 7:03 ET on Friday.

NASA astronauts JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov and Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers have been sent to the International Space Station.

Notably, Crew-10 marks the 10th crew rotation mission under SpaceX’s human spaceflight program. It is the 11th crewed flight to the ISS through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, including the Demo-2 test mission. Williams and Wilmore have been stuck on the ISS since their arrival in June 2024.

Both astronauts were supposed to stay on the ISS for about a week, but due to some technical failures, their stay was extended.

Ahead of the launch, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth shared a video message expressing his support for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10, Fox News reported. In the video posted on X, Hegseth remarked, “I just want to take a brief moment to say we are praying for you.” He added, “We wish you Godspeed, and we look forward to welcoming you all home soon.”

“President Trump said to Elon Musk, ‘Get the astronauts home and do it now’—and they’re responding,” Hegseth stated. He further added that they are bringing back NASA astronauts, retired US Navy Captains Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, as reported by Fox News.