SpaceX on a mission to return two stranded astronauts
SpaceX has initiated its mission to rescue two astronauts who have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) since June.
The Dragon capsule, which has two vacant seats for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, successfully lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday.
Originally, the astronauts were only supposed to spend about eight days at the space station. However, due to a fault discovered in the new Boeing Starliner, it returned to Earth empty as a precautionary measure.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov are delivering fresh supplies to Butch and Suni, with plans to bring them home in February.
The Dragon launch was originally set for Thursday but was postponed due to Hurricane Helene, which caused significant destruction across Florida and continued its path through Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.
SpaceX, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, has been transporting crews to and from the ISS every six months.
The Dragon is expected to dock with the ISS on Sunday around 21:30 GMT.
Under a contract between NASA and Roscosmos, the Russian federal space agency, a three-seat Russian Soyuz spacecraft carries one NASA astronaut on each flight to the ISS and a cosmonaut flies on each four-seat Dragon.
