SpaceX launches new crew to ISS to finally relieve NASA’s 2 stuck astronauts

( NYPost )

SpaceX successfully launched Crew Dragon 10 to the International Space Station Friday night on a mission that will return NASA’s two stranded astronauts back to Earth after nine long months in orbit. 

The Crew-10 mission lifted off just after 7 p.m. in a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and is expected to arrive at the ISS late Saturday night to relieve astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who could splashdown in the Sunshine State as early as Wednesday.

The pair of star gazers have been stuck at the ISS since their Boeing Starliner capsule suffered several leaks and mechanical issues during their weeklong mission last June.

Williams and Wilmore will head back to Earth on one of the docketed SpaceX capsules with fellow American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who arrived in space in September.

The trip would end the nine-month-long saga the two astronauts have endured after their initially planed 10 days on the ISS was extended indefinitely due to the Boeing malfunction, which cratered the company’s reputation last year.

Crew10 members, from left, cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, astronaut Nichole Ayers, astronaut Anne McClain and JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi

The stranded pair’s return home was further delayed in September when NASA ordered the Starliner to fly back empty after deeming the capsule too dangerous for a crewed return flight. 

SpaceX in September launched a Crew Dragon capsule to rescue the pair and it docked at the space station, but NASA opted to stall its return.

Additional plans were continuously pushed back and marred by political mudslinging after President Trump repeatedly blamed the Biden administration for their lengthy stay. 

Biden administration officials have denied leaving the astronauts in space for political reasons. 

A launch, originally scheduled for takeoff on Wednesday, was delayed due to a hydraulic issue. 

The exact date of Williams and Wilmore’s return is not immediately clear, but could be as soon as March 16, NASA has said.

The new crew heading into space Friday night includes NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.

They will spend the next six months at the space station, considered the normal stint, after springing Wilmore and Williams free.