At Cape Canaveral, Florida, a SpaceX crew capsule docked with the International Space Station on Sunday, just over a day after its launch. The capsule was delivering four new astronauts to replace two NASA astronauts who have been stuck aboard the space station.
The new crew includes representatives from the United States, Japan, and Russia. They will spend several days acclimating to the space station’s operations with help from astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Later this week, Wilmore and Williams will board another SpaceX capsule that has been docked at the station since last year to conclude an unexpectedly extended mission that started in June of the previous year.
Originally, Wilmore and Williams were supposed to depart a week after launching on Boeing’s inaugural astronaut mission. However, their stay was prolonged to nine months due to complications. The Boeing Starliner capsule experienced numerous technical issues, prompting NASA to decide it must return to Earth without passengers, leaving the astronauts onboard to await a return ride with SpaceX.
Upon arriving, Wilmore opened the station’s hatch and rang the ship’s bell as the newcomers entered, receiving a warm welcome of hugs and handshakes. “It was a wonderful day. Great to see our friends arrive,” Williams shared with Mission Control.
Wilmore and Williams were initially scheduled to return in late September with a reduced crew and empty seats for their journey home. However, delays occurred when the replacement crew’s new capsule required extensive battery maintenance. Consequently, an older capsule was deployed, resulting in their return being postponed to mid-March.
Weather conditions permitting, the SpaceX capsule carrying Wilmore, Williams, and two other astronauts will detach from the space station no earlier than Wednesday for a landing off the coast of Florida. During this time, the space station’s crew will swell to 11 members, including personnel from the U.S., Russia, and Japan.
