The SpaceX capsule which will retrieve the two stranded astronauts has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS).
Pilot Sunita “Suni” Williams and Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore were onboard a test flight to the ISS on Boeing’s newest spacecraft on 5 June.
They were meant to stay in orbit for eight days – however, issues with Starliner’s propulsion system meant they were left stranded in space for months.
NASA confirmed in August that the two will not return to Earth until 2025, with SpaceX now in charge of rescuing the astronauts on a Crew Dragon flight.
The US’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Alexander Gorbunov manned the capsule which docked at the ISS at 5.30pm EDT (around 10.30pm UK time) on Sunday, having blasted off on Saturday evening.
Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbunov in the Dragon capsule. Pic: NASA/AP
NASA said the capsule attached to the ISS in complete darkness while soaring 260 miles above Botswana.
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SpaceX docks to rescue stranded astronauts
Mr Hague and Mr Gorbunov will not return with Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore – who will take two empty seats made clear on Crew Dragon – until February next year.
By then, the two stranded astronauts will have been in space for eight months.
The arrival of the two new astronauts means there will be 11 people living on the ISS, NASA said.
Speaking before take-off, Mr Hague said: “There’s always something that is changing [with spaceflight].
“Maybe this time it’s been a little more visible to the public.”
The launch of the SpaceX rescue mission. Pic: AP
Arriving in Cape Canaveral last week, he also said: “We’ve got a dynamic challenge ahead of us.
“We know each other and we’re professionals and we step up and do what’s asked of us.”
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August: Astronauts stuck until February
NASA deputy program manager Dina Contella said the two astronauts watched the SpaceX launch from the ISS, with Ms Williams cheering “go Dragon!”
Boeing’s Starliner undocked from the ISS and flew back to Earth in September without the crew. NASA decided the thruster failures and helium leaks that cropped up after lift-off were too serious and poorly understood to risk the test pilots’ return.
(L-R) Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov and NASA astronaut Nick Hague before take off on Saturday. Pic: AP
In a news conference from space the same month, Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore said the space station had become their “happy place”.
“That’s how it goes in this business,” she said, adding that “you have to turn the page and look at the next opportunity”.
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Mr Wilmore also added: “It’s been quite an evolution over the last three months, we’ve been involved from the beginning through all the processes of assessing our spacecraft.
“And it was trying at times. There were some tough times all the way through.”
