SpaceX Launches Rescue Mission To Return Stranded Astronauts

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SpaceX has launched a rescue mission for the two stuck astronauts at the International Space Station.

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A SpaceX rocket soared into the sky Saturday with two passengers on board, leaving two seats empty to return American astronauts who have been stranded for months on the International Space Station, NASA said.

The Falcon 9 rocket took off at 1:17 pm (1717 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It used a new launch pad, the pad's first use for a crewed mission.

"Congrats to @NASA and @SpaceX on a successful launch," NASA chief Bill Nelson said in a post on X. "We live in an exciting period of exploration and innovation in the stars."

When they return from the space station in February, they will bring back two space veterans—Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams—whose stay on the ISS was prolonged for months by problems with their Boeing-designed Starliner spacecraft.

The newly developed Starliner was making its first crewed flight when it delivered Wilmore and Williams to the ISS in June.

They were supposed to be there for only an eight-day stay, but after problems with the Starliner's propulsion system emerged during the flight there, NASA was forced to weigh a radical change in plans.

After weeks of intensive tests on the Starliner's reliability, the space agency finally decided to return it to Earth without its crew, and to bring the two stranded astronauts back home on the SpaceX mission Crew-9.

"We know that this launch is a bit unique in moving from the plan for crew members to two," NASA associate administrator Jim Free told reporters.