SpaceX Rescue Capsule Docks at ISS to Retrieve Stranded Astronauts

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft that launched astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station docked to the Harmony module's forward port seen from a window on the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the adjacent port, on July 3, 2024. NASA via AP

SpaceX’s Dragon capsule docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday to retrieve two astronauts who have been stranded since June due to issues with their Boeing-designed Starliner spacecraft.

The Dragon capsule, carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, docked with the orbiting complex at 5.30 p.m. ET on Sept. 29, NASA said in a statement.

Another two empty seats on the capsule were saved for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose Boeing spacecraft returned to Earth empty earlier this month after NASA deemed it was risky for flight.

Hague and Gorbunov entered the space station after the capsule’s hatch was opened at around 7 p.m. ET, and they were welcomed by the NASA crew at the ISS, including Wilmore and Williams.

“[Aleksandr] and I had a smooth ride up here,” Hague said in a video shared by NASA. “Coming through the hatch and seeing all the smiles, and as much as I’ve laughed and cried in the last 10 minutes, I know it’s going to be an amazing expedition.”

The pair will join the Expedition 72 crew for five months at the ISS to do research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities. They will return with Wilmore and Williams in February next year.

The Dragon capsule was launched atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which took off on Sept. 28 from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

“After today’s successful launch of Crew-9, Falcon 9’s second stage was disposed in the ocean as planned, but experienced an off-nominal deorbit burn,” SpaceX stated on social media X.

“As a result, the second stage safely landed in the ocean, but outside of the targeted area.”

SpaceX indicated that it would temporarily pause Falcon 9 launches until its investigation into the incident is completed.

“We will resume launching after we better understand [the] root cause,” the company said.

Wilmore and Williams were expected to be gone just a week when they signed up for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test that launched in June. By the time they return next year, the pair will have logged more than eight months in space.

NASA said on Aug. 24 that it decided to return Boeing’s Starliner to Earth empty due to safety concerns after the pilots identified helium leaks and issues with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters on June 6.

The Starliner, which was designed to operate autonomously and has completed two uncrewed flights, returned to Earth without its crew on Sept. 6. NASA cut two astronauts from this SpaceX launch to make room on the return leg for Wilmore and Williams.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.