Stuck NASA astronauts welcome SpaceX capsule that'll bring them home next year

The two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station since June welcomed their new ride home with Sunday’s arrival of a SpaceX capsule. The Dragon capsule docked in darkness as the two craft soared 265 miles (426 kilometers) above Botswana. NASA switched astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to SpaceX following concerns over the safety of their Boeing Starliner capsule. The Starliner returned to Earth empty earlier this month due to thruster failures and helium leaks.

The Dragon carrying NASA’s Nick Hague and the Russian Space Agency’s Alexander Gorbunov will remain at the space station until February, turning what should have been a weeklong trip for Wilmore and Williams into a mission lasting more than eight months. Two NASA astronauts were pulled from the mission to make room for Wilmore and Williams on the return leg. The arrival of two fresh astronauts means the four who have been up there since March can now return to Earth in their own SpaceX capsule in just over a week, bringing the station’s crew size back down to the normal seven.

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