SpaceX announces new date to rescue 'stranded' astronauts after last mission was called off minutes before takeoff
While we don't want to say Suni Williams and Buch Wilmore are 'cursed', it sometimes feels like some higher power doesn't want the pair to leave the cold abyss of space.
The astronauts blasted off from Cape Canaveral in June 2024 aboard the Boeing Crew Flight Test, and while that mission had faced numerous delays of its own, Williams and Wilmore finally docked with the ISS on June 6.
Unfortunately for them, the planned eight-day mission has turned into an extended stay of 281 days on the ISS…with a few more still to go.
Although Williams insists they aren't 'stranded', the tale of two 'stranded' astronauts has been grabbing headlines ever since, with President Donald Trump even telling Elon Musk to go get them. Alongside wild theories that they've forged a romance up in the stars, there are complaints that they've been used as political pawns, and NASA has explained why they weren't rescued earlier. Still, Williams and Wilmore likely don't know about the media storm they sit at the center of.
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SpaceX had originally planned to launch the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft on March 12, with the Crew-10 team replacing Williams, Wilmore, and fellow ISS crew members Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov.
Following a couple of days handover, Williams and Wilmore were finally due back on Earth on SpaceX has now confirmed the next attempt will happen "no earlier than Friday", meaning today March 16, but with the SpaceX mission pulling the plug less than an hour before blastoff, the whole schedule has been shunted back a few days.
(March 14) is one to keep an eye on.
Now targeting no earlier than Friday, March 14 for Falcon 9's launch of @NASA's Crew-10 mission → https://t.co/VPdhVwQFNJ pic.twitter.com/JVszH0DjC8
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 13, 2025
The latest post suggests things are still on track for a March 14 launch, and with a two-day delay, it means Williams and Wilmore could be returning home on March 18.
With the eyes of the world on NASA and SpaceX, a landing page for the launch explains: "Launch is targeted for 7:03 p.m. ET, with a backup opportunity available on Saturday, March 15 at 6:41 p.m. ET"
A live webcast will start 80 minutes before liftoff, with audiences able to watch from the site, using the new X TV app, or via the @SpaceX account on X.
NASA confirmed that the March 12 launch was delayed due to a hydraulic system issue involving a ground support clamp arm for the Falcon 9 rocket, which was then followed by adverse weather conditions scuppering a potential March 13 launch.
When they eventually return home, Williams and Wilmore are expected to be rushed off on stretchers and put into a 'brutal' rehab regime, although we're sure they'll be glad to be back.
Here's hoping it's third time lucky with the Crew-10 launch, and even though all of this is subject to change, we're one step closer to Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore's long-awaited return to Earth.