SpaceX on Saturday launched a rescue mission to bring back astronauts stranded on the International Space Station, but it will not be completed until next year.
The capsule entered orbit to pick up Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams, whose Boeing spacecraft returned to Earth empty earlier this month due to safety concerns.
With NASA rotating space station crews about every six months, this newly launched flight with two empty seats reserved for Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams will not return until late February. Officials said there was no way to return them to the SpaceX vehicle sooner without interrupting other planned missions.
By the time they return, the duo will have spent more than eight months in space. They expected to be gone for just a week when they signed up for Boeing's first astronaut flight, which launched in June.
NASA ultimately decided that Boeing's Starliner posed too much risk after a series of fuel problems and helium leaks marred its flight to the orbital complex. The US space agency launched two astronauts from a SpaceX spacecraft on Saturday to make room on the return flight for Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams.
Dina Kontella, NASA's deputy program administrator, said that the two astronauts watched the launch via a live broadcast link sent to the space station, which thrilled Ms. Williams.
Ms. Williams has been promoted to commander of the space station, which will soon return to its normal population of seven people. Once mm. The Hague and Gorbunov will arrive on Sunday, and four astronauts who have lived there since March will be able to depart in their SpaceX capsule. Their return home was delayed for a month due to Starliner problems.
In space, change is the only constant
Mr. Hague noted before the flight that change is the only constant in human spaceflight.
“There is always something changing. Maybe this time it will be more clear to the public.”
Mr Hague was assigned the role of rescue mission commander because of his experience and handling of a launch emergency six years ago. A Russian rocket failed shortly after take-off, but the capsule carrying it and an astronaut rocketed to safety.
NASA's rookie astronaut Xena Cardman and space veteran Stephanie Wilson were removed from that flight after NASA chose to use SpaceX to bring back the stranded astronauts. The two promised a future space mission, and were at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Mr. Gorbunov remained on board the flight as part of an exchange agreement between NASA and the Russian space agency.
“Every manned launch I saw brought me so many emotions. Today was particularly unique,” said a teary-eyed Ms. Cardman after the early afternoon liftoff. “It was hard not to watch this rocket take off without thinking: ‘This is it. “My missile and this is my crew.”
Moments before liftoff, Mr Hague paid tribute to the two colleagues he left behind: “Unbreakable. We did it together.” Once in orbit, he described the flight as a good one and thanked everyone who made it possible.
Earlier, Mr. Hague acknowledged the challenges of launching with half a crew and returning with two trained astronauts on another spacecraft.
“We have a dynamic challenge ahead of us,” he said after arriving from Houston last weekend. “We know each other and we are professionals and committed to doing what is asked of us.”
The private sector is invading space
SpaceX has long led NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which was established with the retirement of its space shuttles more than a decade ago. SpaceX overtook Boeing in delivering astronauts to the space station in 2020, and NASA now has 10 crewed flights.
Boeing has had various problems over the years, repeating a Starliner test flight with no one on board after the first flight went off course. The Starliner spacecraft that left Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams in space landed safely in the New Mexico desert on Sept. 6 and has since returned to Kennedy Space Center. A week ago, Boeing's head of defense and space was replaced.
After Hurricane Helen hit Florida, SpaceX's final liftoff marked the first departure of astronauts from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Station.
SpaceX acquired the old Titan rocket launch pad nearly two decades ago and used it to launch satellites and cargo at the station, while also flying crews from the old Apollo launch pad, located nearby. The company wanted more flexibility with the launch of its new Falcon rockets.
