SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule arrived safely at the International Space Station on Sunday, where it will eventually ferry back to Earth the two Boeing Strainer astronauts who have been stuck in space for months.
The SpaceX ship flew NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the ISS for their five-month science mission to bring home the stranded Boeing astronauts.
The Crew Dragon has two empty seats onboard which will be occupied by Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams during a return trip scheduled for February — bringing an end to the duo’s troubled journey that began when Starliner malfunctioned on June 5.
Wilmore and Williams’ mission was originally planned to last just eight days before the trouble struck.
The mission served as Starliner’s maiden flight, but the Boeing craft encountered thruster failures and helium leaks so serious that NASA opted to return the capsule to Earth without Wilmore and Williams.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.