VIDEO - Stranded astronauts' 9-month stay ends as new crew arrives

Two astronauts stranded for over nine months on the International Space Station (ISS) took a step closer to returning home on Sunday after a replacement crew docked with the orbital outpost.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been stuck aboard the ISS since June, were seen on live TV embracing their counterparts shortly after the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule arrived at 05:45 GMT.

Wilmore and Williams were originally expected to return to Earth earlier, but a Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were testing on its maiden crewed flight suffered propulsion issues and was deemed unfit for their return.

"Wonderful day," Williams said, excited to see their friends arrive. Footage posted online by NASA astronaut Don Pettit showed the Crew Dragon approaching the ISS as it orbited Earth.

Their Starliner had returned to Earth empty, leaving Wilmore and Williams stranded much longer than the typical six-month rotation for astronauts. Their stay was far longer than expected, as the mission was supposed to be a few days long.

While their extended stay was notable, it is still much shorter than the U.S. record of 371 days set by NASA astronaut Frank Rubio aboard the ISS in 2023, or the world record of 437 days held by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov aboard the Mir space station.

The astronauts' prolonged absence from their families sparked sympathy worldwide. Due to the unexpected extension, they had to receive additional supplies, including clothing and personal care items they hadn't packed for such a long stay.

Now, Wilmore and Williams, along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will begin preparations for their departure. Their return and splashdown off the coast of Florida is expected no earlier than March 19.

The replacement Crew-10 team launched on Friday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The team consists of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan's Takuya Onishi, and Russia's Kirill Peskov. During their mission, they will conduct scientific experiments, including tests on spacecraft flammability and research on the effects of space on the human body.