“Astronauts Wave Goodbye as Replacement Crew Arrives at International Space Station”

The International Space Station welcomed a four-person crew early Sunday morning, marking the beginning of a mission to replace two astronauts who have been on the orbital base for over 9 months. NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were initially scheduled for a week-long stay, found themselves staying longer due to technical issues with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft.

The new crew, consisting of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, floated through the ISS hatch at 1:35 a.m. ET on Sunday. They were warmly greeted by Williams, Wilmore, and the other five astronauts already aboard the space station.

Williams and Wilmore, along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, are scheduled to depart the ISS for Earth no earlier than Wednesday, pending favorable weather conditions.

The Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which encountered helium leaks and thruster malfunctions during its journey to the ISS in June, was brought back uncrewed. NASA then decided to integrate Williams and Wilmore into the regular space station crew rotation, extending their mission unexpectedly.

President Trump had previously referred to the astronauts as “stranded” on the space station and urged SpaceX founder Elon Musk to retrieve them. However, NASA officials clarified that the decision to keep Williams and Wilmore on the ISS was intentional, citing technical and budgetary considerations.

The returning astronauts will travel back to Earth on a SpaceX Dragon capsule that has been docked at the ISS since September. The capsule arrived with a reduced two-person crew to accommodate Williams and Wilmore’s return journey, leaving two seats empty for their trip back home.