ISS Mission to Swap Out Starliner Astronauts Pushed to Friday

Wednesday launch attempt was scrubbed due to a hydraulic system issue on the ground, postponing NASA and SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission.

Jack Daleo

Thursday, March 13, 2025 at 01:03 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Jack Daleo

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stacked with the company’s Crew Dragon capsule stands on the pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. [Courtesy: SpaceX]

Key Takeaways:

Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been on the International Space Station for over nine months, with their return to Earth currently delayed.
Their return will be facilitated by a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, part of the Crew-10 mission, rather than the Starliner due to safety concerns.
The Crew-10 mission's launch was recently scrubbed due to a ground system issue with the Falcon 9 rocket and is now targeted for Friday.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Boeing Starliner crewmembers Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will need to wait a little bit longer before returning from their more than nine-month sojourn aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA and SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission—an ISS astronaut rotation operation that is expected to culminate in Wilmore and Williams’ return to Earth aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule—is now targeted to launch no earlier than Friday at 7:03 p.m. EST, NASA said Wednesday. A launch attempt Wednesday evening, which would have returned the astronauts as early as Sunday, was scrubbed due to a ground issue.