Sunita Williams' rescue mission Space X capsule docks at space station

According to the live stream of the rescue mission, the Crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunovtook off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Saturday, making contact with the ISS at 5.30 pm on Sunday.

In fact, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted when the 'Dragon reached the space station'.

Also watch: 'Voting from space': Watch Sunita Williams' latest interview from space

Fabulous day

After the Crew 9 rescue mission docked at the orbiting facility, they boarded the station just after 7 pm and embraced their colleagues Williams and Wilmore, which prompted NASA deputy administrator Pam Melroy to say later at a a news conference that it had been a "fabulous day".

Williams, who has become the ISS commander, welcomed the new arrivals, saying, "I just want to say welcome to our new compadres," as Hague and Gorbunov joined the nine astronauts already on board.

Prolonged stay

When Hague and Gorbunov return from the space station in February, they will bring back Wilmore and Williams.

Wilmore and Williams' stay on the ISS got prolonged for months due to technical problems with their Boeing-designed Starliner spacecraft, which was on its first-crewed test flight. The Starliner encountered thruster failures and helium leaks shortly after lift-off and NASA found it too risky to be used for the astronauts' return. They were supposed to be there only for 80 days but due to these problems NASA was forced to change their plans.

Also read: Boeing's Starliner returns to Earth without astronauts

https://thefederal.com/category/international/boeings-starliner-returns-to-earth-without-astronauts-143399

NASA had now decided to use a SpaceX Crew Dragon to bring Wilmore and Williams back to Earth. However, the launch of Crew-9 was postponed from mid-August to late September to give NASA experts more time to evaluate the Starliner's reliability and decide how to proceed.

It was then delayed a few more days due to Hurricane Helene that swept across Florida.

February return

Now, Hague and Gorbunov will spend five months on the ISS, after which they will return along with Williams and Wilmore in late February. Hague, who is leading the rescue mission, said, "We’ve got a dynamic challenge ahead of us. We know each other and we’re professionals and we step up and do what’s asked of us."

However, according to reports, Wilmore and Williams, both retired Navy captains and seasoned NASA astronauts, have adapted to their extended mission, actively participating in routine maintenance and scientific experiments on the ISS.