Return mission for stranded astronauts to the ISS has been launched

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• The return of the astronauts stuck on the International Space Station is approaching.
• SpaceX's "Crew Dragon" space capsule is on its way to the ISS with the new "Crew 10".
• The launch of the Crew Dragon planned for last Wednesday was delayed due to hydraulic problems.
• Suni Williams and Barry Wilmore have been on board the ISS since August 2024. Instead of one week, they stayed in space for almost ten months.

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The 'Crew Dragon' from tech billionaire Elon Musk's private space company SpaceX took off from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in Florida, as live images from the US space agency NASA showed.

On board is the so-called "Crew 10" consisting of the US astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers as well as the Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and the Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. The launch was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but had to be postponed due to a hydraulic problem on the ground. The problem was later resolved.

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"We celebrate the countless people around the world who have made this journey possible," said Ayers shortly before the launch. However, the focus is primarily on the astronaut and the astronauts, who will be able to return to Earth with the arrival of the new crew.

Crew 10 is to replace Crew 9

Crew 10 is expected to arrive at humanity's outpost on Sunday night and will take over from Crew 9 - US astronaut Suni Williams, her colleagues Barry Wilmore and Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov. After a few days together on board the ISS, "Crew 9" will then return to Earth. According to Nasa, the return is possible next Wednesday at the earliest. Crew 10 is scheduled to remain in space until the fall.

Stranded in space

Astronauts still stranded on ISS for months

Hague and Gorbunov have been on board the ISS since the end of September, while Williams and Wilmore have been there since June. They were actually only supposed to stay for around a week. However, due to technical problems with their "Starliner" spacecraft, NASA decided to bring the broken-down spacecraft back to Earth empty in September. The planned week turned into almost ten months in space for the two experienced astronauts, who had already been on the ISS several times before.