Sunita Williams Nears Homecoming as NASA and SpaceX Prepare for Crew-10 Mission Launch

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, carrying the Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-10 mission. The mission marks another milestone in NASA and SpaceX’s partnership, advancing crewed spaceflight and long-duration missions aboard the International Space Station.

NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully launched the Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, setting the stage for the long-awaited return of astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stranded aboard the ISS for nine months.

The Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Dragon spacecraft, lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 4:33 a.m. (IST) following a brief delay due to a hydraulic system issue with a ground support clamp arm. The four-person crew aboard Crew-10 includes NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA’s Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. The mission marks the 10th crew rotation under SpaceX’s human spaceflight program and the 11th overall crewed mission to the ISS through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Williams and Wilmore’s prolonged stay aboard the ISS began in June last year when their eight-day mission was unexpectedly extended due to a malfunction with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Originally slated to return in February, their homecoming was further delayed. According to NASA, the two astronauts are now scheduled to return a few days after Crew-10’s arrival.

The situation has also become a political flashpoint, with former President Donald Trump and his ally, Elon Musk, claiming that the Biden administration deliberately delayed the astronauts' return. Their accusations, made without supporting evidence, have drawn criticism from the space community.

Tensions escalated further when Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen highlighted on social media that Crew-9 had been modified to accommodate Williams and Wilmore’s return. Musk responded with an offensive remark, sparking backlash from former astronauts. Wilmore, for his part, defended Musk’s comments as “factual,” despite acknowledging he lacked specific details.

Trump has also drawn attention for his controversial remarks about the situation, referring to Williams, a highly decorated former naval officer, as “the woman with the wild hair” while speculating about her relationship with Wilmore.

As Crew-10 embarks on its mission, NASA remains focused on safely bringing Williams and Wilmore home, closing a turbulent chapter in U.S. spaceflight.

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Source: NDTV