Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams, two U.S. astronauts who’ve been orbiting Earth far longer than anyone anticipated, might finally be heading home soon, thanks to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The duo has been aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for over nine months—quite the extended stay compared to NASA’s original week-long plan. But their ride back was almost ready Wednesday evening, until a last-minute hydraulic glitch grounded SpaceX’s latest launch attempt just 30 minutes before liftoff.
SpaceX, working hand-in-hand with NASA, had geared up to send its trusty Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket skyward from Kennedy Space Center as part of the Crew-10 Mission. The destination? The ISS, floating some 250 miles above us. The goal was to deliver a fresh four-person crew to take over from the current Crew-9 team and, in the process, pave the way for Wilmore and Williams’ much-delayed return.
The astronauts first arrived at the ISS on June 6, 2024, courtesy of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. What started as a short mission took a wild turn when Starliner ran into trouble—helium leaks and thruster issues plagued its docking in June. By September, NASA and Boeing decided it was safer to bring the spacecraft back to Earth without its human passengers, leaving Wilmore and Williams to extend their cosmic vacation. NASA saw it as a chance to collect more data on Starliner’s performance, while keeping the astronauts out of unnecessary risk.
Since then, the pair has joined the Expedition 71/72 crews, adapting to life in orbit while awaiting their ticket home. NASA initially planned their return alongside two Crew-9 members—Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov—who arrived at the ISS in late September. Now, with Crew-10 on the horizon, that homecoming feels closer than ever.
SpaceX’s scrubbed launch was a hiccup, but if all goes according to plan, Wilmore and Williams could soon swap their space suits for Earth-bound shoes. Stay tuned—after nine months among the stars, their journey back is one worth watching.