Col. Nick Hague, a Space Force Guardian and NASA astronaut, launched Saturday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida alongside Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov as part of the SpaceX Dragon Crew-9 mission.

Because NASA rotates space station crews approximately every six months, this newly launched flight with two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams won’t return until late February. Officials said there wasn’t a way to bring them back earlier on SpaceX without interrupting other scheduled missions.

SpaceX launched a two-person crew to the International Space Station, the start of a mission to bring home two NASA astronauts stuck in orbit after flying on Boeing Co.’s Starliner spacecraft.

NASA decided using the Boeing Starliner capsule to bring Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth was too risky following a string of technical glitches on their outwards journey.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a crew of two astronauts, lifts off from launch pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) NASA astronaut Nick Hague,

Two astronauts who have been on the International Space Station (ISS) since June, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, welcomed the SpaceX capsule on Sunday, which will enable their return to Earth. The rescue mission was carried out by SpaceX,

Two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been staying on the International Space Station (ISS) since June, welcomed the SpaceX capsule on Sunday, facilitating their return to Earth. The rescue mission was conducted by SpaceX,