The mission is nearing its next phase, with the Crew Dragon spacecraft set for “rendezvous, docking, and hatch opening” on Sunday, March 16.

As per NASA’s schedule, docking is set for 11.30 pm EDT (9 am IST on March 16), followed by hatch opening at 1.05 am EDT (10.35 am IST on March 16).

The Crew-10 astronauts will then be welcomed aboard, while Crew-9 delivers their farewell remarks at 1.40 am EDT (11.10 am IST on March 16).

On Friday, SpaceX launched Crew-10 on a crucial mission that will enable Wilmore and Williams to finally return home. The Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Crew Dragon capsule, lifted off shortly after 7 p.m. New York time (4.30 am IST on Saturday) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Approximately 10 minutes after liftoff, the capsule separated from the rocket’s upper stage, and SpaceX confirmed that the crew was en route to the ISS.

In spaceflight, rendezvous is the process of two spacecraft meeting in orbit through precise navigation before docking, where they physically connect.

In the Crew-10 mission, docking occurs when the Crew Dragon (spacecraft) attaches to the ISS, either automatically or manually. Once securely docked, astronauts check for air leaks before proceeding with the hatch opening, which allows Crew-10 members to enter the ISS and join the existing crew.

Here’s what’s in place for Crew-10 ahead

After docking, the Crew-10 astronauts will change out of their spacesuits and begin preparing cargo for offloading before opening the hatch between the Dragon spacecraft and the ISS’s Harmony module around 105 am on Sunday, March 16 (US time).

Once aboard the station, NASA will broadcast the Crew-10 welcome remarks, followed by farewell remarks from Crew-9, starting at approximately 1.40 am. (US time).

With Crew-10’s arrival, the total number of astronauts on the ISS will briefly increase to 11. The new crew will join NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Don Pettit, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksandr Gorbunov, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner, according to NASA. After a short handover period, Hague, Williams, Wilmore, and Gorbunov are scheduled to return to Earth no earlier than Wednesday, March 19.

Before Crew-9’s departure, mission teams will assess weather conditions at potential splashdown sites off the coast of Florida to ensure a safe return.

Two-day handover period before Williams and Wilmore leave

The Crew Dragon (Crew-10) mission comprises NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. As part of NASA’s continuous crew rotation on the ISS, the new team must complete “a two-day handover” process before the current crew, including Wilmore and Williams, can depart.

Wilmore and Williams are scheduled to return to Earth no earlier than March 19, travelling aboard a SpaceX capsule already docked at the station.

Originally, Wilmore and Williams arrived on the ISS in June aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, intending to stay for only a week. However, technical issues with Starliner led NASA to deem it unsafe for their return journey.

As a result, the agency decided to extend their mission and bring them back on a SpaceX craft, prolonging their stay to nearly nine months.

The delayed return of Wilmore and Williams has drawn national attention and concern, with figures like President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk weighing in on the situation. Meanwhile, Crew-10 is set to stay on the ISS until fall (for the next six months), focussing on scientific research related to lunar navigation, material flammability, and the human body’s response to space.