Crew-10 Astronauts Welcomed At International Space Station After Successful Docking

After docking, Crew-10 was welcomed with hugs at the International Space Station. The new team expressed their excitement to begin their work.

The four SpaceX Crew-10 members and the seven Expedition 72 crew members during the welcoming ceremony.

Source : X/@Space_Station

SpaceX's four-member Crew-10 mission was welcomed at the International Space Station (ISS) by the Expedition 72 crew on Sunday, March 16. The new team entered the International Space Station shortly after the hatches were opened between the ISS and the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft named ‘Endurance’ at 11:05 am IST. 

The Crew-10 mission is comprised of NASA's Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. They will spend the next few days learning and familiarising themselves with the ISS.

Watch the @SpaceX #Crew10 members enter the space station and join the Exp 72 crew for a long-duration space research mission. https://t.co/WHpxBz51Ts https://t.co/WHpxBz51Ts

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) March 16, 2025

Commander McClain of Crew 10 said that they had a great journey to the space station, which was about 28 hours. She said the team felt an “immense joy” when they saw the International Space Station from their windows. She thanked the ground control for ensuring their safe journey. Japanese Takuya Onishi said that he was excited to "officially be a part of Expedition 72". 

The Expedition 72 crew includes NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Don Pettit, Sunita Williams, and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksandr Gorbunov, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner.

Williams and Wilmore To Return To Home Soon

Wilmore and Williams travelled to the ISS in June 2024 aboard the Starliner spacecraft during its first crewed flight for a mission that was planned for 10 days. They have been stranded on the ISS since then due to technical issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. They will return on SpaceX Dragon's Freedom capsule along with Crew-9 members Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov.

Despite the delay, the mission is now back on track, and the long-awaited return of the stranded astronauts is expected to be next week, depending on weather conditions.