At this moment, caution is still in the air to avoid any premature celebrations, but it looks like NASA and SpaceX are finally set to launch the Crew-10 mission tonight, March 14, at 7:03 p.m. ET. The crew will head to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket.
Ground teams have resolved the support hydraulics system issue that previously caused delays, and the weather at the Space Coast appears to be near perfect for liftoff.
NASA confirmed the lineup for the mission: astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers from NASA, Takuya Onishi from JAXA, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. This marks the tenth crew rotation for NASA using SpaceX’s human spaceflight system, a major milestone in their partnership.
However, beyond that achievement, this launch is significant for another reason—it will finally bring relief to Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been stranded in space far longer than planned due to ongoing issues with Boeing’s troubled Starliner.
ABC News reported that the original launch attempt was called off just minutes before liftoff due to a problem with a ground support clamp arm on the Falcon 9.
Wilmore and Williams initially launched aboard Starliner in June 2024 for what was supposed to be a brief stay at the ISS. However, persistent technical problems led NASA and Boeing to send the uncrewed Starliner back to Earth in September while keeping the two astronauts aboard the ISS until Crew-10’s Dragon spacecraft was ready for launch. Now, they are set to return home aboard the Crew-9 capsule.
Despite the unexpected extension of their mission, Wilmore dismissed any notion of disappointment, emphasizing that NASA operates at the cutting edge of spaceflight, where challenges are inevitable.
Recently, reports have emerged suggesting that political maneuvering within the Biden administration may have played a role in delaying the astronauts’ return longer than necessary.