NASA, SpaceX's Crew-10 mission docks with ISS—Williams can finally return
What's the story
NASA and SpaceX's Crew-10 mission has successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS).
The Dragon capsule, dubbed Endurance, docked with the Harmony module of the orbiting laboratory at around 12:04am EDT (9:37am IST) today.
The docking represents a major milestone in NASA's Commercial Crew Program and sets the stage for astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore to return home.
Mission specifics
Crew-10 mission details and objectives
The Crew-10 mission, which launched atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket on March 15, consists of four astronauts from three different nations.
The team includes NASA's Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and Kirill Peskov from Roscosmos.
Their main objective during this six-month stay at the ISS is to conduct scientific investigations that will help prepare humans for future space missions.
Twitter Post
Take a look at the official confirmation
.@SpaceX#Crew10 arrives and docks
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) March 16, 2025to the space station at 12:04am ET Sunday. The @Commercial_Crew quartet will enter the orbital outpostsoon and join the Exp 72 crew. https://t.co/SGiZB2LyFM
Homeward journey
Return of Crew-9 and the challenges faced
The arrival of Crew-10 paves the way for the return of NASA astronauts Williams and Wilmore and their Crew-9 mates Nick Hague (NASA) and Aleksandr Gorbunov (Roscosmos).
Williams's and Wilmore's return was delayed due to problems faced by Boeing's Starliner spacecraft that brought them to ISS in the first place.
Following an extensive assessment, NASA deemed it too risky for Starliner to attempt a return trip with Wilmore and Williams aboard.
Research focus
Crew-10 to undertake scientific research and maintenance tasks
Crew-10 will now take over operations at the ISS after a brief handover period from Crew-9.
Their mission includes a variety of scientific experiments, technology demonstrations, and maintenance tasks critical to future space exploration.
Key objectives include testing new navigation technologies for NASA's Artemis program, studying how different materials burn in microgravity to improve safety in future spacecraft designs, and researching on how prolonged space travel affects the human body.