KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — The SpaceX Dragon capsule has been changed for the Crew-10 launch, which will now be launching a bit earlier than expected and means that the Starliner crew that has been onboard the International Space Station since last summer will get home sooner, stated NASA.

In a statement, NASA said it is “accelerating” the target launch of the Crew-10 mission as the U.S. space agency and SpaceX will be changing out the Dragon capsule.

“NASA and SpaceX are accelerating the target launch and return dates for the upcoming crew rotation missions to and from the International Space Station. The agency’s Crew-10 launch now is targeting Wednesday, March 12, pending mission readiness and completion of the agency’s certification of flight readiness process,” NASA stated.

Crew-10 will take off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

In December, NASA stated that the Crew-10 would launch in “late March,” but no date was given. With the new pending launch date being March 12, it does mean that Starliner mission astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Butch Wilmore will return a bit sooner.

The two NASA astronauts are members of the Boeing Crew Flight Test mission.

In June 2024, they left on the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule in what was supposed to be an eightish-day mission to the International Space Station.

However, the capsule experienced leaking hydrogen fuel and thruster issues that resulted in the pair staying on the space station for months longer.

(Scroll down to view an interactive timeline of events.)

The Starliner returned to Earth empty in September 2024 due to safety concerns and the Crew-9 mission was launched weeks later. Once that mission ends, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will return home with Wilmore and Williams.

In January, President Donald Trump stated that he asked Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, to “go get” Williams and Wilmore.

A return of a familiar Dragon capsule

NASA did not state why the new Dragon spacecraft would not be flying for the Crew-10 mission.

It has been reported that the new Dragon was facing battery issues, and a NASA source revealed to Spectrum News weeks ago that the spacecraft would be switched with another Dragon, two weeks before Trump asked Musk to get the Starliner crew.

But NASA did share that a familiar Dragon will be used.

“The earlier launch opportunity is available following a decision by mission management to adjust the agency’s original plan to fly a new Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-10 mission that requires additional processing time. The flight now will use a previously flown Dragon, called Endurance …,” NASA confirmed.

The Endurance has a strong resume of flying Crew missions to the International Space Station.

• Crew-7
• Crew-5
• Crew-3

The SpaceX team will have more time to finish the new Dragon capsule’s interior build and to conduct final integration activities, according to the space agency.

NASA stated that teams are working to get the Endurance flight ready for the Crew-10 mission.

The Crew-10 members are: NASA astronauts Anne McClain, commander; and Nichole Ayers, pilot; JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, mission specialist; and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, mission specialist.

Once the four board the International Space Station, the Crew-9 members will welcome them and get them familiar with the experiments that are ongoing.

After an unknown number of days, Wilmore, Williams, Hague and Gorbunov will return to Earth in a splashdown off the coast of Florida, weather conditions permitting. No splashdown date or sites have been given.

Starliner timeline