Nasa decided that it would not take even a small risk in bringing back Butch and Suni on Starliner, when they had the option of returning them on SpaceX's Dragon capsule. Nasa decided the best option was to do this during a scheduled crew rotation, even though it would mean keeping the astronauts on the space station for several months.

The Starliner saga is a step closer to its end with the launch of a SpaceX vehicle that will relieve the astronauts who flew on the Boeing spacecraft.

The replacements for NASA’s two stuck astronauts launched to the International Space Station on Friday night, paving the way for the pair’s return after nine long months. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams need SpaceX to get this relief team to the space station before they can check out.

NASA will livestream the launch Friday night of Crew-10, which will in part replace the Starliner astronauts at the International Space Station.

Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams have spent nine months aboard the International Space Station following the failure of Boeing’s Starliner mission. Their rescue rocket has finally been launched.