A SpaceX Crew Dragon space capsule, set to return NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams next year, successfully docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, according to NASA and SpaceX.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov boarded the ISS shortly after the Dragon capsule docked at the station at 2130 GMT, NASA announced in a post on X.
The SpaceX Crew-9 mission was initially planned to transport four astronauts to the ISS. However, two seats had to be opened for Wilmore and Williams after the Boeing Starliner capsule they arrived on in June was deemed unfit for their return to Earth.
The two former military test pilots have been stranded on the ISS since the Starliner capsule experienced thruster failures and helium leaks. NASA determined it was unsafe for the astronauts to return on Starliner, which was sent back to Earth without the crew earlier this month.
Wilmore and Williams, the first crew members aboard the troubled Starliner, are now scheduled to return home with Hague and Gorbunov aboard Crew Dragon in February next year. What was supposed to be an eight-day mission has extended into an eight-month ordeal.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
