Stranded NASA astronauts one step closer to home

"5,4,3,2,1...": It's lift off for the SpaceX Crew-10 mission

SpaceX has launched a rocket as part of a mission to bring home two astronauts who've been stuck in space for nine months.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams set off on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in June 2024 after multiple delays.

They were expected to stay at the International Space Station (ISS) for eight days, but issues with their spacecraft meant they were unable to return to Earth.

The SpaceX rocket is now on its way with a new crew to replace the two stranded astronauts who has been working on the ISS for months.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams set off on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in June 2024 expecting to stay in space for around a week

The SpaceX rocket is flying four new crew members to the ISS, including US, Japanese and Russian astronauts.

The new crew is expected to arrive at the station on Saturday.

There will then be a two day change over with Suni, Butch and two other ISS crew members.

The hope is that Butch and Suni will be able to return to Earth as early as next week, but it might depend on Earth's weather.

"Weather always has to cooperate, so we'll take our time over that if it is not favourable," said Dana Weigel, manager of the ISS programme.

Ms Weigel explained that the astronauts had been preparing for their handover to the new ISS crew this past week.

"Butch rang a ceremonial bell as Suni handed over command to cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin," she said.

Why are the astronauts stranded in Space?

Whilst stuck in space they have been helping ongoing missions at the ISS including taking part in spacewalks to look after the station

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at the ISS at the start of June 2024.

They went to test experimental spacecraft called Starliner, which was built by the aerospace firm Boeing, a rival to SpaceX.

However, during both the launch and the docking onto the ISS, the Boeing aircraft experienced problems.

Because of this it was decided that it would be safer for Butch and Suni to stay at the space station and return during a scheduled crew rotation.

This meant their stay turned from a few days, to several months.