SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission successfully docked at the International Space Station on Sunday morning, setting the stage to finally retrieve the two NASA astronauts who have been stuck in orbit for months.
The Space-X space capsule docked at the ISS at 12:05 a.m. EST Sunday morning after lifting off Friday from Florida.
Video feed showing Crew-10’s dramatic docking onto the ISS was shared live on X.
Astronaut Sunita Williams is seen shortly after the crew docked early Sunday. AP
Members of Crew-9 and Crew-10 hug each other during the monumental moment aboard the International Space Station. APOne camera showed the docking from the perspective of the ISS, with Crew-10 approaching as a cloudy atmosphere over Australia rotates in the background.
Crew-10 on the approach to the ISS as shown from the station’s cameras. NASA
An image of the ISS as seen from the perspective of the Crew-10 capsule on its way to docking. NASASpace-X and NASA engineers celebrated in their Earth-bound offices as the Crew-10 capsule successfully latched onto the ISS docking port.
The arriving crew entered the ISS just before 2:00 a.m. EST.
American Astronaut Butch Willmore greeted the arriving crew members when the hatch finally opened onto the space station.
Sunita “Suni” Williams smiled as she snapped photos of her crewmates, one of whom wore an alien mask, during the docking.
Both crews embraced each other as the new team made their way through the hatch.
“Houston, thank you for tuning in this early morning,” Williams said. “It was a wonderful day. Great to see our friends arrive. Thank you so much.”
Williams and Wilmore have been stuck on the ISS since June due to their Boeing Starliner encountering a litany of issues preventing their return which was originally planned for eight days after their arrival.
One NASA crewmember wore an alien mask moments before the new crew arrived. AP
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Crew-10 astronauts lifts off from Launch Complex 39 on Friday. Charles Briggs/ZUMA Press Wire / SplashNews.com
Images from the live stream that shows the capsule from the perspective of ISS (left) and from the cockpit of Crew-10 (right). NASAThe space-trotting duo were later folded into a plan to leave after the arrival of Crew-9, comprised of American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who arrived on the ISS in August.
That plan was also scrapped due to the lack of an emergency escape pod for those who would remain on the ISS.
An exterior view of the International Space Station the moment the SpaceX crew arrived. APNow, both Williams and Wilmore will join Crew-9 on their journey back home to Earth. They are expected to begin their return flight in the next few days, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said on X Saturday night.
Crew-10 initially planned to launch on Wednesday evening — but the mission was postponed due to a problem with a ground support clamp arm on the rocket.
