What is the purpose of NASA and SpaceX’s recent launch to the ISS?
After nine unexpected months aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams are finally set to come home.
On a mission coordinated by NASA and SpaceX, a Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center carrying four new crew members: Anne McClain and Nicole Aunapu Mann from the U.S., Takuya Onishi from Japan, and Kirill Peskov, a cosmonaut from Russia.
The new team will stay on the ISS for six months, while Wilmore and Williams — both retired U.S. Navy test pilots — will return aboard a different capsule after becoming the first astronauts to reach the ISS aboard Boeing's Starliner. Their mission, originally planned for just eight days, was extended due to propulsion issues with the spacecraft.
NASA emphasized that keeping the two on the station was essential to maintain crew capacity. During their prolonged stay, Wilmore and Williams contributed to scientific research and helped with technical maintenance on the station.
Now, with the latest launch complete, the long-awaited journey home can finally begin.
