The Crew-10 mission is a long-awaited first step to bring Wilmore and Williams back to Earth. The duo are scheduled to depart the ISS on Wednesday as early as 4 a.m. ET (0800 GMT), along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

Reaching orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the newest crew includes NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, both military pilots; and Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russia’s Kirill Peskov, both former airline pilots. They will spend the next six months at the space station, considered the normal stint, after springing Wilmore and Williams free.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 7:03 p.m. ET (2303 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying four astronauts who will replace Wilmore and Williams, both of whom are veteran NASA astronauts and retired U.

NASA and SpaceX have successfully launched the Crew-10 mission from Kennedy Space Center, marking a crucial step in bringing back astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station.

NASA and SpaceX have finally launched a long-awaited Crew-10 mission to space to bring back Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, veteran NASA astronauts, back to Earth.

NASA launched replacements for two astronauts stuck on the International Space Station for nine months. The new crew includes military and former airline pilots from the US, Japan, and Russia. The returning astronauts will bring back Wilmore and Williams,