SpaceX Capsule delivered the four astronauts on a NASA crew swap mission early Sunday, with a NASA crew swap mission that allows the viewing lab to return home nine months later.
Approximately 29 hours after its release from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday evening, the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, a crew member, was docked to the ISS at 4:04am on Sunday.
They were welcomed by the seven crew at the station. This welcomed seven crews, including veteran astronauts and retired Navy test pilots.
Otherwise, Crew 10 missions, a rotating flight of everyday crew members, are the long-awaited first step to bring Willmore and Williams back to Earth.
The pair will depart the ISS at 8am on Wednesday, along with American Nick Hague and Russian astronaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
The Hague and Golbunov flew to the ISS in September with a Crew Dragoncraft with two empty seats, Wilmore and Williams.
The 10 crew members who will be staying at the station for about six months include Americans Anne McClain and Nicole Ayers, Japanese onishi and Russian Kiril Peskov.
The Crew Swap mission got caught up in politics when US President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk, who is also CEO of SpaceX, encouraged the launch of a faster Crew-10. They alleged without evidence that Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, had abandoned Wilmore and Williams at the station for political reasons. One Danish astronaut Andreas “Andy” Morgensen flew to the ISS twice and said, “What a lie, and from someone complaining about the lack of integrity from the mainstream media.”
Wilmore and Williams have done scientific research and have done routine maintenance with five other astronauts.
Williams told reporters this month that he looks forward to going home to see his two dogs and his family. “It was a roller coaster for them, but perhaps a little more than we do,” she said.
