SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 7:03 p.m. ET from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, initiating the Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The launch marked NASA’s planned crew rotation at the ISS, as Crew-10 was a science expedition and the 10th crew rotation mission under SpaceX’s human space transportation system.
The Crew-10 mission aims to facilitate the return of NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been aboard the ISS for nine months. During their extended stay, they completed over 900 hours of research involving 150 scientific experiments, as reported by Business Today. Williams and Wilmore were initially scheduled for a week-long mission but were delayed due to failures of the Boeing spacecraft in which they arrived.
The new crew aboard the Crew-10 mission includes NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. McClain serves as the mission commander, while Ayers is the pilot and will also serve as a flight engineer during Expeditions 72/73. The mission involves international collaboration, featuring representatives from NASA, JAXA, and Roscosmos.
“Have a great time in space, y’all!” NASA shared on the social media platform X, according to ABC 10 News San Diego KGTV. The launch of the Crew-10 mission was delayed several times, including a last-minute cancellation about 45 minutes before departure due to a technical problem with the hydraulic system of the clamping arm, ABC 10 News San Diego KGTV reported.
Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams have remained at the ISS for an extended period due to technical failures with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, having originally been scheduled for an eight-day stay but now nearing ten months in orbit. One of the objectives of the SpaceX mission is to bring them back to Earth, as reported by the Free Press Journal. The astronauts are anticipated to begin their journey towards Earth around March 19, shortly after the arrival of the new crew, the Free Press Journal reported.
As they were originally scheduled to be on Crew-9, NASA had to find seats on the return flight home for Williams and Wilmore, similar to how an airline rebooks passengers after a flight cancellation, ABC 10 News San Diego KGTV reported. Numerous issues were detected with the Starliner spacecraft during their mission, including propulsion problems and helium leaks, leading NASA to deem the spacecraft unsafe for re-entry with astronauts on board.
During the Crew-10 mission, the astronauts will conduct more than 200 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations involving materials and technology, as reported by ABC 10 News San Diego KGTV. Anne McClain, on her second spaceflight, will participate in NASA’s Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research (CIPHER) investigation, which studies the physiological and psychological changes seen in space, according to NASA.
The journey of the Crew-10 astronauts to the ISS is expected to last approximately 28 hours. The Dragon spacecraft is traveling at 17,000 mph while orbiting the Earth, NASA reported. The Crew-10 astronauts are experiencing 2 g of acceleration while SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket go through a rapid succession of events.
The Crew-10 mission underscores the ongoing collaboration between NASA and SpaceX, which is critical for the astronauts’ safe return and the advancement of human space exploration, Business Today reported. Since joining NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX has supported U.S.-led space exploration and has completed multiple crewed missions to the ISS since becoming NASA’s primary transportation provider for astronauts following the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011.
“We wish you Godspeed, and we look forward to welcoming you all home soon,” said Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of Defense, in a video message expressing support for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10.
To the SpaceX/NASA Crew-10. We are praying for you. We wish you Godspeed, and we look forward to welcoming you all home soon.
pic.twitter.com/V1SUBbcM0m
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) March 12, 2025
“Falcon 9 launches Crew-10, Dragon’s 14th human spaceflight mission to the Space Station,” SpaceX announced, according to Business Today. After docking, the Crew-10 astronauts will change out of their spacesuits and prepare cargo for offload before opening the hatch between the Dragon spacecraft and the space station’s Harmony module around 1:05 a.m. on March 16.
The Crew-10 mission involves conducting scientific research, performing maintenance, and ensuring the ISS’s operational efficiency, focusing on advancing scientific understanding and testing new technologies relevant to space habitation.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has become a key player in these efforts, showcasing the capabilities needed for current and future space explorations. Through its crewed missions, SpaceX continues to strengthen its reputation in the aerospace industry.
As the Crew-10 mission progresses, NASA will continue providing updates about the launch on the mission blog, @commercialcrew on X, or commercial crew on Facebook.