NASA’s stranded astronauts have been rescued by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and are finally on their way home after nine months in space.
The extraordinary mission was livestreamed by NASA and took place two hours before departure.
Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore were undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 1:05 a.m. ET (5:05 a.m. GMT) aboard the Dragon spacecraft.
The pair, along with NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Aleksandr Gorbunov, are now making the 17-hour descent back to Earth.
They are expected to touch down off the coast of Florida at 5:57 p.m. ET (9:57 p.m. GMT).
“Crew Nine is going home,” Hague, the commander of the departing Crew Dragon, said from the spacecraft moments after they began their journey.
“On behalf of Crew Nine, it was a privilege to call space home… to live and work… in cooperation for the benefit of humanity.
“To our colleagues and dear friends who remain on the station, we know the station is in great hands. We’re excited to see what you guys are going to accomplish, and we’ll be waiting for you.”