SpaceX Capsule Docks With ISS For Starliner Rescue Mission

Matthew Broersma,
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SpaceX Dragon capsule docks with International Space Station. Image credit: NASA

SpaceX Dragon capsule docks with International Space Station with two empty seats to rescue stranded Starliner astronauts

A SpaceX Dragon capsule has docked at the International Space Station as NASA organises a trip back to Earth for two astronauts who have been stranted on the station since June.

The capsule launched from the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida, with two vacant seats for Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

The two astronauts travelled into space aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule in what was meant to be its validation flight after a troubled development history.

But questions were raised over irregularities in its propulsion system, which included helium leaks and several of Starliner’s thrusters shutting down.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov depart for mission to International Space Station in September 2024. Image credit: NASA
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov depart for mission to International Space Station in September 2024. Image credit: NASA

Delayed return

Engineers were unable to resolve the issues to their satisfaction and decided Wilmore and Williams should return to Earth aboard a SpaceX flight in February 2025.

As such their trip into orbit, originally intended as an eight-day test flight, will turn into an eight-month mission.

NASA rotates ISS crew roughly every six months, with the current Crew Dragon mission scheduled to return with Williams and Wilmore aboard in late February.

The Dragon capsule was scheduled to launch last Thursday, but was delayed due to Hurricane Helene, which caused destruction throughout the south-eastern United States.

It carried NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, with two NASA astronauts cut from the mission to make room for Williams and Wilmore.

Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore make pizza aboard the International Space Station in September 2024. Image credit: NASA
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore make pizza aboard the International Space Station in September 2024. Image credit: NASA

Crew rotation

Following the arrival of Hague and Gorbunov, four astronauts who have been living aboard the ISS since March are scheduled to leave aboard their own SpaceX capsule.

Their return was delayed by a month due to the Starliner issues.

The problematic Starliner capsule returned to Earth without a crew last month.

The long-delayed Starliner project has already generated $1.5 billion (£1.14bn) in losses for Boeing and on 1 August the company added a further $125m to that total.

Boeing replaced its defence and space chief late last month.

Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has been certified for crewed flights for about four years and has flown 10 crewed trips into orbit.