SpaceX launch today: How to watch next step in bringing Starliner astronauts home from ISS
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NASA astronaut hands over ISS command to Russian cosmonaut
Ahead of NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 departure from the ISS, command of the station was handed over to Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin.
The crew of the infamous Boeing Starliner should be able to return to Earth in a matter of days with the imminent arrival of a replacement mission at the International Space Station.
Four spacefarers who are part of a SpaceX mission known as Crew-10 are due to launch into orbit Wednesday night from Florida. The crew's scheduled arrival Thursday morning at the space station would then set the stage for their predecessors on the Crew-9 mission to depart.
The Crew-9 mission now includes Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore – the two NASA astronauts who in June flew to the orbital outpost for the doomed maiden crewed voyage of the Starliner spacecraft. That flight test came to an ignominious end when NASA decided the troubled Boeing vehicle wasn't safe enough to take its crew back.
Instead, Wilmore and Williams have unexpectedly remained in orbit for nine months, where they have been folded into Expedition 72 to help with space station maintenance and science experiments.
Here's how to watch the launch of the Crew-10 mission, which will play a pivotal role in paving the way for the Starliner astronauts to come home.
What is the Crew-10 mission? Starliner astronauts to return after SpaceX Crew-10 team reaches ISS
Meet the astronauts of Crew-10
The Crew-10 mission, which, as the name suggests, is SpaceX's tenth science rotation mission to the International Space Station, includes four spacefarers who will live and work at the outpost for about six months:
NASA astronaut Anne McClain , of Spokane, Washington, mission commander;
, of Spokane, Washington, mission commander; NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers , of Colorado, mission pilot;
, of Colorado, mission pilot; Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa), a mission specialist;
of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa), a mission specialist; Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, a mission specialist.
What time is the Crew-10 mission launch from Florida?
Liftoff is scheduled for 7:48 p.m. EST Wednesday, March 12, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
The astronauts will be aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule launching atop a Falcon 9 rocket, which will propel the spacecraft into orbit before separating.
NASA to provide livestream of liftoff: How to watch
NASA will provide live coverage of the Crew-10 launch. The broadcast is set to begin at 3:45 p.m. EST on the space agency's streaming service, NASA+.
How to watch Crew-10 reach International Space Station
NASA's live coverage will then resume here after 4 a.m. Thursday on NASA+ before the Dragon reaches and docks at the space station's Harmony module, a port and passageway onto the ISS.
Docking is estimated to take place around 6 a.m., followed by a hatch opening at 7:45 a.m. A welcome ceremony is scheduled for late that night, around 8:20 p.m., according to NASA.
SpaceX mission to pave way for Starliner astronauts to return
Williams and Wilmore could return with Crew-9 as early as Sunday, March 16.
That mission, which reached the station in late September, included just two crew members – NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov – in order to leave two extra seats on its Dragon capsule for the Starliner crew.
The tentative return date would allow for a few days for Crew-10 to orient themselves at the space station. The handover period is a crucial process for the outgoing astronauts to help the arriving spacefarers familiarize themselves with their new home and the work taking place, according to NASA.
Once Crew-9 undocks on the Dragon, they would make a splashdown landing off the Florida coast.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
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