NASA and SpaceX have postponed the highly anticipated NASA-SpaceX mission delay that was set to bring back stranded astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. The Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) was called off due to a hydraulic system issue in the ground support clamp arm for the Falcon 9 rocket. The launch was scheduled to take place from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
With less than an hour before liftoff, SpaceX decided to postpone the launch. The Falcon 9 rocket was set to carry a new crew of four astronauts who would replace the stranded astronauts at the ISS. NASA has now rescheduled the launch for no earlier than 7:03 PM EDT (4:33 AM IST) on March 14, 2025. However, adverse weather conditions, including high winds and precipitation along Dragon’s flight path, may still impact the timeline.
The Crew-10 team—NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov—have safely exited the Dragon spacecraft. The Falcon 9 rocket remains in secure condition as mission managers assess the next steps.
If the launch proceeds as planned, SpaceX Crew Dragon will return Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to Earth by March 19, 2025. NASA had initially planned a quicker turnaround to minimize consumable usage at the ISS.
