NASA and SpaceX have moved up the launch date for the Crew-10 mission to March 12, aiming to return astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew-9 mission, which includes Williams, Wilmore, and astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, will hand over the ISS to the incoming Crew-10 team before their return to Earth.
Originally scheduled for late March, the Crew-10 mission will now launch earlier, utilizing a previously flown Dragon spacecraft named Endurance after a change in flight plans. The spacecraft’s hardware is undergoing evaluations to ensure it meets safety standards required by NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
This adjustment follows pressure from US President Donald Trump, who urged SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to expedite the return of the stranded astronauts. Williams and Wilmore have been on the ISS since June due to delays caused by technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
