Voice of the VoiceSpaceX and NASA have launched a special mission to bring back stranded American astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. The pair had been on the International Space Station (ISS) for the past nine months, after a planned stay of just a week. The Dragon spacecraft was launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 7:03 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, clearing the way for their return. Four new astronauts have been sent to the ISS. The mission has sent four new astronauts to the ISS. They include NASA’s Anne McClain and Nicole Ayres, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Takuya Onishi and Russia’s Roscosmos space agency’s Kirill Peskov. The new crew will replace the current crew on the ISS, so that Williams and Wilmore can return next week. If the weather remains favorable, their return will be completed without any delay. Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore arrived at the ISS in Boeing’s Starliner capsule in June last year. It was a short test mission, but their return was repeatedly delayed due to technical glitches such as helium leaks and thruster failures. After that, their return was further delayed due to battery problems in SpaceX’s capsule. Ultimately, they were planned to be brought back through the Crew 10 mission, which brought relief to NASA and SpaceX. Before this mission, US Secretary of Defense Pat Hegseth released a video message to NASA and the SpaceX team and expressed his best wishes. He added that we are praying for your safety and look forward to seeing you back home soon. Meanwhile, according to the report, former US President Donald Trump had asked Elon Musk to make arrangements to bring these astronauts home as soon as possible.