NASA has set a new launch date for the highly anticipated SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), adjusting its plans after deciding to replace a brand-new Crew Dragon spacecraft with a previously flown capsule. The mission, now targeting liftoff no earlier than Wednesday, March 12, from Kennedy Space Center, marks yet another shift in the evolving schedule of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 members (from left to right) Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi pictured training at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California. Image Credit: SpaceX
The Crew-10 team will be led by NASA astronaut and mission commander Anne McClain, accompanied by two fellow astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut. Their arrival at the ISS will kick off a critical transition period known as a "direct handover," during which they will work alongside the current U.S. Orbital Segment (USOS) crew to ensure a smooth exchange of responsibilities.
Once the Crew-10 astronauts settle in, the Crew Dragon Freedom, currently docked to the station, will undock to return Crew-9 to Earth. That team consists of NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Their return date will depend on weather conditions off the coast of Florida, marking the last Dragon splashdown in that region before recovery operations shift to the West Coast.
Shifting Schedules and Equipment Challenges
The Crew-10 launch has been a moving target for months. Originally planned for February 2025, the mission was supposed to introduce SpaceX’s newest Crew Dragon, designated C213. However, delays in the spacecraft's fabrication, assembly, and testing forced NASA to push the launch to late March.
In early February, NASA confirmed a major change: Crew-10 will now fly aboard the previously used Dragon Endurance instead of waiting for the new capsule to be completed. The decision was made to accelerate the timeline and ensure the safe return of Crew-9 without further delays.
"Human spaceflight is full of unexpected challenges," said Steve Stich, Manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. "Our operational flexibility is enabled by the tremendous partnership between NASA and SpaceX and the agility SpaceX continues to demonstrate to safely meet the agency’s emerging needs."
Political Pressure and Public Attention
Complicating matters was an unexpected intervention from former President Donald Trump. In late January, SpaceX founder Elon Musk claimed on social media platform X that Trump urged him to “bring home the two astronauts stranded on the space station as soon as possible.” Trump echoed this sentiment in a post of his own, declaring he had instructed Musk to “go get” Wilmore and Williams.
NASA had already announced months prior that Williams and Wilmore would return on Crew Dragon Freedom, making the public statements somewhat misleading. The agency quickly clarified its plans, emphasizing that both Crew-9 and Crew-10 missions were proceeding as safely and efficiently as possible.
What’s Next for SpaceX’s Dragon Fleet?
The decision to fly Crew-10 on the reused Dragon Endurance leaves questions about the future of the new C213 spacecraft. The capsule was initially expected to debut with Crew-10, but with the timeline now adjusted, it may instead be assigned to Axiom Space's upcoming Ax-4 private astronaut mission.
NASA and SpaceX have yet to provide specifics on what work remains on C213, but officials have noted that shifting to the Endurance capsule allows SpaceX additional time to complete the new spacecraft's interior build and integration without affecting the immediate ISS crew rotation.
Despite the changes, the upcoming Crew-10 mission remains a crucial step in NASA’s ongoing partnership with SpaceX, ensuring a continuous human presence aboard the ISS while adapting to the unpredictable nature of spaceflight.
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