SpaceX docks at ISS to collect stranded astronauts

A SpaceX capsule sent to bring backmost 2 astronauts stranded connected the International Space Station (ISS) has docked.

The Dragon capsule, which has 2 bare seats for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, docked astatine 17:30 eastbound clip (22:30 BST).

The brace arrived astatine the presumption connected Boeing's caller Starliner capsule for an eight-day ngo successful June, but were forced to remain determination due to the fact that of a responsibility discovered during the flight.

They are present expected to instrumentality to Earth successful February.

The Dragon capsule lifted disconnected from Cape Canaveral, Florida connected Saturday carrying Nasa astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.

Hague, who has done a erstwhile stint connected the ISS, and Gorbunov volition articulation the abstraction station's unit earlier taking Wilmore and Williams backmost to Earth.

The motorboat had been scheduled for Thursday but was delayed due to the fact that of Hurricane Helene, which has caused immense demolition crossed the south-eastern US, including Florida, successful caller days.

The docking occurred arsenic the abstraction presumption flew 265 miles (426km) supra Botswana successful confederate Africa.

Footage from wrong the ISS showed Hague and Gorbunov smiling and posing for photos with the remainder of the unit aft their arrival.

The archetypal Starliner flight, which launched connected 5 June, was that capsule's archetypal trial formation with astronauts connected committee and Boeing's archetypal effort to instrumentality astronauts to the ISS.

During the formation it experienced a fig of problems, including leaks of helium - which is utilized successful its propulsion strategy - and issues with respective of its thrusters.

Engineers astatine Boeing and Nasa spent months investigating, but successful precocious August Nasa decided that it would not beryllium safe to effort to bring Wilmore and Williams location aboard the Starliner.

The capsule had already been delayed for respective years due to the fact that of setbacks during its development, arsenic good arsenic issues discovered during uncrewed trial flights successful 2019 and 2022.

Nasa retired its abstraction shuttle fleet successful 2011, leaving the bureau reliant connected Russia's Soyuz trade to get to and from the ISS.

Having 2 American companies to execute the missions has been a cardinal extremity for immoderate time, and successful 2014 Boeing and SpaceX were awarded contracts worthy $4.2bn (£3.2bn) and $2.6bn (£2bn) respectively.

In 2020, SpaceX - founded by billionaire Elon Musk - became the archetypal backstage institution to instrumentality astronauts to the ISS.