SpaceX Crew-10 successfully docks at International Space Station, paving way for stranded NASA astronauts’ return to Earth

SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission successfully docked at the International Space Station on Sunday morning, setting the stage to finally return to Earth the two stranded NASA astronauts who have been stuck in orbit for months.

The Space-X rocket ship docked at the ISS at 12:05 a.m. EST Sunday morning after lifting off Friday from Texas.

Video feed Crew-10’s dramatic docking onto the ISS was shared live on X.

One camera showed the docking from the perspective of the ISS, with Crew-10 approaching as a cloudy atmosphere over Australia rotates in the background.

Space-X and NASA engineers celebrated in their Earth-bound offices as the Crew-10 capsule successfully latched onto the ISS docking port.

The arriving crew plans to enter the ISS after 1:05 a.m. EST.

American Astronaut Butch Willmore is expected to greet the arriving crew members as the hatch finally opens onto the space station.

NASA astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stuck on the ISS since June due to their Boeing Starliner encountering a litany of issues preventing their return which was originally planned for eight days after their arrival.

The space-trotting duo were later folded into a plan to leave after the arrival of Crew-9, comprised of American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who arrived on the ISS in August. That plan was also scrapped due to the lack of an emergency escape pod for those who would remain on the ISS.

Now, both Williams and Wilmore will join Crew-9 on their journey back home to Earth. They are expected to begin their return flight in the next few days, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said on X Saturday night.

Crew-10 initially planned to launch on Wednesday evening — but the mission was postponed due to a problem with a ground support clamp arm on the rocket.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.