LOS ANGELES -- NASA and SpaceX launched a new crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, a critical step to bring home NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore who have been stranded in space since last June.

NASA and SpaceX launched NASA's Crew-10 astronauts to the International Space Station on Friday night in a mission that will also aim to return Starliner astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

NASA was due to launch a SpaceX rocket from Florida carrying a replacement crew for the International Space Station in a mission that would set up the return to Earth of US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams - stuck in space for nine months after a trip on Boeing's faulty Starliner.

The Falcon 9 rocket has successfully launched after the rescue mission was delayed due to a technical issue earlier this week.

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.

The Crew-10 mission will send four astronauts to the space station to take over for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams’ crew, finally allowing their return home.

Houston: SpaceX and NASA have launched a mission to bring back US astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station (ISS), where they have been stranded for nine months.

Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore are scheduled to depart from the International Space Station (ISS) no earlier than March 19, NASA announced, according to ANI.