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This latest rotation of space station crews will bring Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams home after an extended stay in orbit that many have described as a stranding.
March 12, 2025Updated 5:42 p.m. ET
Four astronauts are scheduled to head to the International Space Station on Wednesday night.
This otherwise routine rotation of crew on the space station is garnering extra attention because it will at last allow the return to Earth of Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, two NASA astronauts whose brief scheduled visit to the space station last June was unexpectedly stretched to more than nine months.
Here’s what you need to know about the mission, which is named Crew-10 because it is the 10th such mission by SpaceX ferrying crew to and from the space station.
When is the launch and how can I watch it?
The four astronauts — two from NASA, one from Japan and one from Russia — are scheduled to launch at 7:48 p.m. Eastern time from Kennedy Space Center in Florida in a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
NASA is broadcasting coverage of the launch, which you can watch in the player above. The astronauts have donned their SpaceX flight suits and are on board the Crew Dragon capsule awaiting the beginning of their trip.
SpaceX is evaluating a hydraulic issue with the clamp arms that hold the Falcon 9 rocket before it launches.
Forecasts call for a greater than 95 percent chance of favorable weather.
A backup launch opportunity is available on Thursday at 7:26 p.m.
