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SpaceX launches capsule that will return Starliner crew next year

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The Dragon capsule carrying the SpaceX Crew-9 will bring back Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, who have been stuck on the ISS far longer than planned.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague of NASA, left, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov on Saturday morning. (Gregg Newton/AFP/Getty Images)

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft successfully reached orbit Saturday with an unusually small crew heading to the International Space Station.

The capsule, named “Freedom,” carried just one NASA astronaut and one Russian cosmonaut rather than the usual four crew members, leaving two seats open for Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, who have been stuck on the space station since Boeing’s Starliner was deemed unfit to return them to Earth. If the mission is successful, it will be a triumphant moment for SpaceX, whose Dragon capsule has become NASA’s sole means of delivering astronauts to the ISS.

The 1.2 million-pound Falcon 9 rocket carrying the capsule took off Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Fla. NASA and SpaceX were cleared for launch after a Tuesday test, although the launch was delayed by two days when Hurricane Helene made landfall off the Gulf of Mexico.

(source: washingtonpost.com)

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