Crew-10 launches for space station, setting stage for Starliner astronauts to return

The Starliner saga is one step closer to its end with the launch Friday night of a SpaceX vehicle that will relieve the astronauts who months ago flew to orbit aboard the now-infamous Boeing spacecraft.

A mission known as Crew-10 is on its way to the International Space Station, where for the past 10 months NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have unexpectedly found themselves stationed for an extended stay. Wilmore and Williams, of course, were catapulted into the public eye back in June when the Starliner vehicle they piloted to the space station encountered a series of issues that ended with the spacecraft leaving them behind.

Instead of returning to Earth on the Starliner as planned, Wilmore and Williams joined Expedition 72 at the space station and were folded into the Crew-9 mission that arrived in September with two astronauts instead of four.

The plan since August has been for the experienced astronauts to return with the Crew-9 spacefarers on a SpaceX Dragon capsule after they completed their own months-long mission.

And at long last, that highly-anticipated return looks to be days away. The imminent arrival of the four astronauts selected for the Crew-10 mission will pave the way for Crew-9 to depart the station with Wilmore and Williams.

"Spaceflight is hard, and success depends on leaders of character who choose a harder right over the easier wrong, and who build programs, partnerships and relationships," NASA astronaut Anne McClain, the Crew-10 mission commander, said during NASA's livestream from the Dragon capsule after reaching orbit "We explore for the benefit of all."

Starliner mission: How long have the Starliner astronauts been in space? Not as long as these 5 spacefarers.

SpaceX Crew-10 launches on Falcon 9 rocket from Florida

Following a two-day delay, The Crew-10 mission launched right on time at 7:03 p.m. EST Friday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX uses its Falcon 9 rocket – one of the most active in the world – to launch the crew missions from Launch Complex 39A. Once in orbit, the astronauts aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule then separated from the rocket for the Dragon to use its own thrusters to autonomously power onto the space station.

The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket returned to the ground for a landing at SpaceX's Landing Zone 1.

In addition to McClain, Crew-10 also includes NASA pilot Nichole Ayers and two mission specialists from other space agencies: Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.

The mission is the second trip to orbit for both McClain, of Spokane, Washington and Onishi, while Ayers, of Colorado Springs, and Peskov are making their first spaceflight.

The Falcon 9 got off the ground after NASA and SpaceX, which jointly operate the Crew-10 mission, called off the initial Wednesday launch attempt due to an issue with the launchpad’s ground system.

SpaceX ground teams took time Thursday to inspect a hydraulics system used to control clamp arms holding the Falcon 9 rocket in place and flushed a suspected pocket of trapped air, NASA said in a blog update.

“I am extremely proud of our NASA and SpaceX ground engineers and joint operations teams in quickly identifying and resolving this issue,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said in a statement.

The launch also comes after NASA twice before delayed the Crew-10 mission, originally anticipated to get off the ground in February.

NASA initially announced in December that the launch had been pushed to late March to give SpaceX more time to prepare a new Dragon capsule for liftoff. The launch date was then moved back up to mid-March – most likely due to pressure from President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk – when NASA decided to instead use a "previously flown" Dragon named Endurance.

What is the Crew-10 mission?

As the name suggests, Crew-10 is SpaceX's tenth science expedition to the International Space Station.

The missions, most of which last about six months, are contracted under NASA's commercial crew program. The program allows the U.S. space agency to pay SpaceX to launch and transport astronauts and cargo to orbit aboard the company's own vehicles, freeing up NASA to focus on its Artemis lunar program and other deep space missions, including future crewed expeditions to Mars.

"This milestone demonstrates NASA’s continued commitment to advancing American leadership in space and driving growth in our national space economy,” NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro said in a statement. “Through these missions, we are laying the foundation for future exploration, from low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars

The Boeing Starliner is meant to one day become a second operational vehicle for NASA under the program, though its path toward certification remains fraught after its botched inaugural crewed flight test. In September, the Starliner vehicle undocked from the space station without its crew for a parachute-assisted landing in New Mexico.

Crew-10 to reach International Space Station

The astronauts of Crew-10 are expected to take more than 28 hours to reach the space station Saturday night and dock by about 11:30 p.m. EST at the Harmony module, a port and passageway onto the ISS.

After docking, the crew will change out of their spacesuits and prepare cargo to unload before the hatch between Dragon and the Harmony module opens around 1:05 a.m., Sunday, according to NASA. Once the new arrivals are aboard the orbital outpost, they will be able to officially greet the Expedition 72 crew members, including the astronauts who flew aboard the Starliner more than 280 days ago.

Had the mission launched as scheduled on Wednesday, the Crew-10 astronauts would have rendezvoused with the space station early Thursday morning. The reason the voyage will be so much longer following the Friday night launch is because the orbital laboratory is much further away from where the Dragon will be when it enters Earth's orbit, a NASA spokesman told Paste BN.

As it did for the launch, NASA will livestream the docking and hatch opening, as well as welcome remarks from the Crew-10 team and the outgoing astronauts, on its streaming service NASA+.

When will Starliner astronauts return with Crew-9?

The arrival of Crew-10 would pave the way for Williams and Wilmore to return with Crew-9 as early as Wednesday, March 19 on a separate Dragon already docked at the station, according to NASA.

The Crew-9 mission, which reached the station in late September, included just two crew members instead of four – NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The decision to send a truncated crew allowed for two extra seats to be available on the Dragon capsule for the Starliner crew.

The tentative return date would allow for a few days for the departing astronauts to get Ayers, McClain, Onishi and Peskov up to speed with the goings on at the space station in a crucial process NASA refers to as a handover period.

Once Crew-9 undocks on the Dragon, they would make a splashdown landing off the Florida coast.

This article has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: Anthony Robledo

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for Paste BN. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com