SpaceX has announced a new launch date after abruptly cancelling a rescue mission to bring home stranded astronauts.

Aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, the Crew-10 mission was set to lift off on Tuesday (12 March) at 7:48 pm EDT from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers (NASA), Takuya Onishi (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Kirill Peskov (Roscosmos), were scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday and facilitate the return of NASA astronauts Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams.

However, less than an hour before takeoff, SpaceX and NASA called off the launch due to an issue with the hydraulic system of the launch tower.

SpaceX clarified that the problem wasn’t with the Falcon 9 rocket or Dragon spacecraft, but rather a ground system issue.

The launch has now been rescheduled for Friday.

SpaceX posted on X: “Now targeting no earlier than Friday, March 14 for Falcon 9’s launch of @NASA’s Crew-10 mission”.

On the website, they further added: “SpaceX and NASA are targeting no earlier than Friday, March 14 for Falcon 9’s launch of Dragon’s 10th operational human spaceflight mission (Crew-10) to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“Launch is targeted for 7:03 p.m. ET, with a backup opportunity available on Saturday, March 15 at 6:41 p.m. ET.”

According to the space agency, SpaceX will live-stream the event on its website and X, starting about 1 hour and 20 minutes before liftoff.

Wilmore and Williams have been on board the International Space Station since last June on what was supposed to be a week-long mission.

The pair was originally part of Boeing’s first crewed test flight of its new Starliner capsule. However, the capsule made an unexpected return to Earth last September following reported technical issues, leaving them stranded nine months longer than expected.

MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO / Contributor / Getty

Once Crew-10 arrives at the ISS later this week, they will spend several months familiarising themselves with the outpost’s ongoing experiments and maintenance while Crew-9 prepares to return home, the space agency said.

“The crew will spend several months aboard the orbiting laboratory conducting spacewalks, research demonstrations and experiments for the benefit of humanity and deep space exploration,” NASA explained.

Crew-10 is the tenth crew rotation mission of SpaceX’s human space transportation system.

“During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct new research to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and to benefit humanity on Earth,” SpaceX stated.

The space saga of Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore is finally coming to an end.

While the former has insisted the pair of NASA astronauts aren’t stranded aboard the International Space Station, the fact their eight-day mission has turned into a 278-day one (and counting) has us all feeling for them.

Capturing the attention of the world and even being used as political pawns by Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the dynamic duo has barely been out of the news since their Boeing Crew Flight Test starliner malfunctioned and had to be sent back to Earth without them.

The POTUS had called on Musk to go and ‘rescue’ Williams and Wilmore, but finally, NASA has confirmed the date they should be back on Earth.

Although the pair will have to go through a brutal regime of rehab, we’re sure they’ll be more than happy to have finally left the confines of the ISS.

Williams and Wilmore will soon be back on Earth (NASA)

As reported by Space.com, NASA has cleared the Crew-10 relief crew that will launch inside the SpaceX Dragon on March 12.

NASA officials say that Williams and Wilmore should return to Earth on March 16, by which point, they’ll have been in space for 283 days.

While the empty Starliner headed back in September 2024, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov flew as part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission with two empty seasons on their Dragon for Williams and Wilmore. All four will fly back once the relief crew reaches the ISS.

ISS program manager Dana Weigel explained: “When we looked at the situation at the time, we had a Crew-9 launch in front of us. It made sense to take the opportunity to bring Crew-9 up with just two seats and have Butch and Suni fill in, and do the rest of the long-duration mission.

Crew-10 will take off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center for a mission expected to last six months.

This crew is commanded and piloted by NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, who are joined by mission specialists JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.

These four were due to fly on SpaceX’s brand-new Dragon, but with pressure mounting to bring back Williams and Wilmore, they’re now flying on the veteran Endurance capsule that’s already been to the ISS and back three times.

Despite pressure from Trump, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stitch said it’s typical for missions to face delays: “We’re always looking and refining the manifest. We started looking at that schedule, and at that time, early this year, late January, that’s when we finally decided we’ll move to [Endurance].”

Endurance and Crew-10 are due to launch at 7:48 p.m. EDT on March 12 and reach the ISS about 14 hours later.

While Williams and Wilmore’s stay is still a way off the 437 days that Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov spent aboard the Mir Space Station in 1994 and 1995, they’ll undoubtedly be glad to be back with their loved ones.

The elongated saga of Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore could soon be coming to an end, as NASA is finally due to rescue the pair of astronauts. Williams and Wilmore have become the face of space after they were marooned on the International Space Station last year. Although Williams has reiterated they aren’t stranded, their eight-day mission aboard the ISS was massively extended due to a fault with their Boeing Starliner capsule, which forced it to fly back without them.

As the days tick by, Williams and Wilmore have currently been aboard the ISS for 272 days…and counting.

Williams and Wilmore are finally set to be rescued in March 2025 (NASA)

Things are finally wrapping up following calls from President Donald Trump for Elon Musk to go and get them, Musk claiming they were abandoned by the Biden administration, and the world’s richest man calling one famed astronaut an ‘idiot’.

SpaceX‘s long-awaited Crew-10 launch is scheduled for March 12, with the dynamic duo finally set to get their feet back on terra firma. After this, there are expected to be some major adjustments to life back on Earth.

Williams has explained the brutal daily regime they’re undertaking in space, involving two hours of exercise to stop help try and combat damage to their bones and muscle.

We already knew there would be a physical toll trying to return to ‘normal’ life, but speaking to DailyMail.com, doctors have explained a little more about what Williams and Wilmore might have to deal with.

As soon as Williams and Wilmore emerge from their capsule, they’re expected to be put on stretchers and rushed away for medical examination.

Dr Vinay Gupta is a pulmonologist and Air Force veteran who claims it could take up to six weeks of brutal regimens to regain their strength.

This will start as soon as they’re back on Earth and initially focus on walking, as well as flexibility and muscle strengthening. The second phase of the 45-day regime involves proprioceptive exercises and cardio reconditioning. The third and final phase is the longest, focusing on returning them to peak physical performance via ‘functional development training’.

Given that Williams and Wilmore have been exposed to the equivalent of one year’s of Earth radiation during a single week in space, Gupta added: “‘If I was their physician, I would think about a more proactive strategy for cancer screening…We want to take a different approach here, given that they had such a unique exposure history.”

With research suggesting that an astronaut aged between 30 and 50 can lose about half their strength following a six-month period in space, biomedical engineer Dr. John Jaquish goes on to explain the effects of low gravity on bone and muscle loss: “The human body needs the Earth’s gravitational pull, and in an absence of that, a lot of things are not functioning correctly.”

Despite their exercise regime, Gupta added: “The reality is, they’re effectively getting a fraction of the sort of exercise that we all take for granted just by walking in [Earth’s] gravity.

“Invariably, despite them doing all the right things (which I know they are), you’re going to see a decrease in muscle mass and strength — no question.”

Although most astronauts can get back to their pre-mission fitness after just 45 days, it can sometimes take months or even years to return to where they were.

It’s nearly time for stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to finally return from the International Space Station back to Earth, but one doctor has revealed a shocking admission regarding what happens to their bodies after spending 9 months in space.

The eyes of the world have been fixed on Williams and Wilmore’s strange and arduous trip to the International Space Station (ISS), as what was supposed to just be a simple eight day mission back in June 2024 has continued for over nine months now.

Issues with both their Boeing Starliner and the SpaceX Crew-10 Dragon spacecraft that would allow them to return home have left them ‘stranded’ upon the ISS, and only next week will they finally return back home to their families – something that has been extremely challenging for Williams.

Williams and Wilmore have been ‘stranded’ upon the ISS since June last year (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

While there has been significant debate surrounding the reason for the delay, with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk placing the blame on the former Biden administration for the hold up after US President Donald Trump asked him to ‘go get’ the pair, but the most important thing for now is that their long wait is nearly over.

It’s not all sunshine and roses though, as their return could indicate some major health problems that come as a part of spending such a long time in space.

During their stay on the International Space Station many began to grow concerned about their appearance – Thankfully NASA clarified that everything is fine and there’s nothing to worry about, but there remains a major issue that they’ll both have to power through almost immediately after landing.

Much like the Crew-8 astronauts that returned last October, Williams and Wilmore will have to be immediately admitted to a medical facility on stretchers, in which they will undertake a six-week rehabilitation program in order to regain their strength.

Suni Williams has previously commented on the challenges that she’ll have to face in relearning how to walk, and they’ve both had to undertake rigorous exercises while on board the ISS in order to avoid a dangerous health condition.

Both astronauts will be immediately taken to a medical rehabilitation facility after they land back on Earth (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

In an interview with the Daily Mail, pulmonologist and Air Force veteran Dr. Vinay Gupta has revealed why spending time in space can be dangerous for the health of astronauts:

“The human body needs the Earth’s gravitational pull, and in absence of that, a lot of things are not functioning correctly,” explains Dr. Gupta. “The reality is, they’re effectively getting a fraction of the sort of exercise that we all take for granted just by walking in [Earth’s] gravity. Invariably, despite them doing all the right things {which I know they are) you’re going to see a decrease in muscle mass and strength – no question.”

On top of this, Dr. Gupta has expressed his concerns around the radiation that Williams and Wilmore will have been exposed to, prompting physicians to conduct “:a more proactive strategy for cancer screening,” just to be extra careful.