SpaceX Flight Launches into Space 8 Days After Rocket Explosion. What That Means for 'Stranded' Astronauts

A new crew is officially on their way to the International Space Station, which means fellow astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — who have been in space for nine months now — are officially one step closer to finally coming home.

SpaceX and NASA's Crew-10 mission took off in a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, March 14, at 7:03 p.m. ET.

The launch was initially scheduled to take off on Wednesday, March 12, but was delayed after a hydraulic issue.

The crew on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft consists of astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, along with mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.

According to NASA, it will take "about 28.5 hours for the spacecraft to autonomously dock to the space station at 11:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, March 15, while traveling 17,000 mph orbiting the Earth."

Once the crew successfully makes their way to the ISS, there will be a handover period — then Wilmore and Williams, who had been in space since June 2024, will fly back home as early as Wednesday, March 19.

Related: Astronauts 'Stranded' in Space for 9 Months Are 'Packing' for Their Long-Awaited Return to Earth

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who have been in space since last September, will also join them on the flight.

The latest successful SpaceX launch came eight days after SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded, grounding flights at Florida airports.

Live stream footage showed engines cutting off from the rocket roughly eight minutes into the launch, shortly after the booster was successfully caught back at the tower.

At the time, the Federal Aviation Administration also said it "activated a Debris Response Area and briefly slowed aircraft outside the area where space vehicle debris was falling or stopped aircraft at their departure location."

Related: Astronaut Whose Return to Earth Keeps Getting Delayed Says She's Been 'Trying to Remember What It’s Like to Walk'

In a statement on its website, SpaceX said that "prior to the end of the ascent burn, an energetic event in the aft portion of Starship resulted in the loss of several Raptor engines." It also shared that "surviving debris would have fallen within the pre-planned Debris Response Area."

The private space company said that they planned to "conduct a thorough investigation, in coordination with the FAA, and implement corrective actions to make improvements on future Starship flight tests.”

Wilmore and Williams, who arrived at the ISS in June 2024, originally expected to stay in space for no more than 10 days.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

However, after their spacecraft encountered mechanical issues, their return was delayed. After weeks of troubleshooting, the spacecraft was sent back to Earth without them — and since then, their return home has continually been pushed back. Lately, it's also become politically charged, with President Donald Trump blaming his predecessor for their lengthy stay.

However, Wilmore told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Thursday, Feb. 13 that they "don’t feel abandoned."

“If you’ll help us change the rhetoric, help us change the narrative, let’s change it to ‘prepared and committed.’ That’s what we prefer."

Williams echoed the sentiments in a separate press conference earlier this month. "Every day is interesting because we're up in space and it's a lot of fun," she said. "The hardest part is having the folks on the ground have to not know exactly when we're coming back."

Read the original article on People