Live: SpaceX Rescue Mission for Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore

Live: SpaceX Rescue Mission for Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore – 01:30

SpaceX launched a rescue mission for the two stuck astronauts at the International Space Station on Saturday. It sent up a downsized crew to bring them home but not until next year.

The capsule rocketed into orbit to fetch the test pilots whose Boeing spacecraft returned to Earth empty earlier this month because of safety concerns. The switch in rides left it to NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Alexander Gorbunov to retrieve Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.

The capsule rocketed toward orbit to fetch the test pilots whose Boeing spacecraft returned to Earth empty earlier this month because of safety concerns. The switch in rides left it to NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Alexander Gorbunov to retrieve Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.

Since NASA rotates space station crews approximately every six months, this newly launched flight with two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams won’t return until late February. Officials said there wasn’t a way to bring them back earlier on SpaceX without interrupting other scheduled missions.

By the time they return, the pair have logged more than eight months in space. They expected to be gone just a week when they signed up for Boeing’s first astronaut flight that launched in June.

Meanwhile, Williams and Wilmore folded into daily life on the space station. The duo transitioned from a lighter test mission schedule to taking on roles as full-time crew member. Williams assuming the role of commander at the orbiting laboratory.

When asked if he had trouble adjusting to the prospect of waiting months longer to get home, Wilmore said, “I’m not gonna fret over it. I mean, there’s no benefit to it at all. So my transition — maybe it wasn’t instantaneous — but it was pretty close.” The astronaut said during a September 13 news briefing from the space station