'Stranded' Astronauts Closer to Coming Home after Next ISS Launch

This image provided by NASA shows four astronauts completing a countdown dress rehearsal on March 9, 20295, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of their planned SpaceX launch. From left, Russia's Kirill Peskov, NASA's Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, and Japan's Takuta Onishi. (NASA via AP)
This image provided by NASA shows four astronauts completing a countdown dress rehearsal on March 9, 20295, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of their planned SpaceX launch. From left, Russia's Kirill Peskov, NASA's Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, and Japan's Takuta Onishi. (NASA via AP)
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'Stranded' Astronauts Closer to Coming Home after Next ISS Launch

This image provided by NASA shows four astronauts completing a countdown dress rehearsal on March 9, 20295, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of their planned SpaceX launch. From left, Russia's Kirill Peskov, NASA's Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, and Japan's Takuta Onishi. (NASA via AP)
This image provided by NASA shows four astronauts completing a countdown dress rehearsal on March 9, 20295, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ahead of their planned SpaceX launch. From left, Russia's Kirill Peskov, NASA's Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, and Japan's Takuta Onishi. (NASA via AP)

A routine crew rotation at the International Space Station has taken on unusual significance: It paves the way for a pair of astronauts stranded for more than nine months to finally come home.
The NASA-SpaceX Crew-10 mission is set to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:48 PM (2348 GMT) on Wednesday. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carries a Crew Dragon capsule with a four-member team on a scientific expedition to the orbital lab, AFP said.
All eyes however will be on astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams who have been stuck aboard the ISS since June after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft developed propulsion issues and was deemed unfit for their return.
The pair, initially slated for an eight-day mission, were reassigned to Crew-9 after its astronauts arrived in September aboard a SpaceX Dragon. The spacecraft carried only two crew members instead of the usual four to make room for Wilmore and Williams. Crew-9 will remain in orbit until Crew-10 arrives.
"We came up prepared to stay long, even though we plan to stay short," Wilmore said in a recent news conference. "That's what your nation's human space flight program is all about, planning for unknown, unexpected contingencies."
Crew-10 is expected to dock early Thursday, followed by a brief handover before Crew-9 departs on March 16 for an ocean splashdown off the Florida coast, weather permitting. Along with Wilmore and Williams, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will also be aboard the returning Dragon capsule.
Wilmore and Williams's prolonged stay has recently become a political flashpoint, as President Donald Trump and his close advisor Elon Musk have accused ex-president Joe Biden's administration of abandoning the pair.
SpaceX boss Musk has suggested, without providing specifics, that he had offered Biden a "rescue" mission outside of the routine crew rotations.
However, with Trump now in office for nearly two months, the astronauts are still set to return as originally planned.
The issue recently sparked a heated online exchange between Musk and Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, whom Musk called "fully retarded." Retired astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly and Chris Hadfield defended Mogensen.
One astronaut who backed Musk however was Wilmore, who offered contradictory statements in last week's press conference.
"I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says is absolutely factual," he said, seemingly endorsing the SpaceX founder's version of events, before adding "politics is not playing into this at all."
"We have the utmost respect for Mr. Musk, and obviously respect and admiration for our president of the United States, Donald Trump. We appreciate them... and we're thankful that they are in the positions they're in," he continued.
The Crew-10 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 a range of scientific experiments, including flammability tests for future spacecraft designs and research into the effects of space on the human body.



Tangled Humpback Whale Sparks Rescue Mission off Australia

This handout frame grab taken from video footage provided by whale rescue group Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) on June 9, 2025 shows a distressed humpback whale tangled in a rope swimming south of Sydney Harbor. (Handout and Clay Sweetman / ORRCA / AFP)
This handout frame grab taken from video footage provided by whale rescue group Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) on June 9, 2025 shows a distressed humpback whale tangled in a rope swimming south of Sydney Harbor. (Handout and Clay Sweetman / ORRCA / AFP)
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Tangled Humpback Whale Sparks Rescue Mission off Australia

This handout frame grab taken from video footage provided by whale rescue group Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) on June 9, 2025 shows a distressed humpback whale tangled in a rope swimming south of Sydney Harbor. (Handout and Clay Sweetman / ORRCA / AFP)
This handout frame grab taken from video footage provided by whale rescue group Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) on June 9, 2025 shows a distressed humpback whale tangled in a rope swimming south of Sydney Harbor. (Handout and Clay Sweetman / ORRCA / AFP)

Wildlife rescue teams scoured Australia's east coast on Monday to find and free a distressed humpback whale tangled in a rope.

Aerial footage showed the whale swimming south of Sydney Harbor trailing a rope attached to a floating buoy.

"It makes it more difficult for the whale to dive," said Pip Jacobs from whale rescue group ORRCA.

"It's tiring for the whale, which is already in a state of distress being tangled."

The whale was about eight meters (25 feet) long, Jacobs said, indicating it was still "quite young".

The rope appeared to be tangled around the whale's left pectoral fin, she said.

"The way it is moving is quite erratic," Jacobs told AFP.

"It's moving south which is unusual.

"They should be heading north as part of their migration."

Teams of volunteers and wildlife rescue experts were searching the coastline to pinpoint the whale's location, she said.

But efforts had been hindered by choppy waters and blustery winds.

"If conditions allow and we have eyes on the whale, the best-case scenario is we have a successful disentanglement.

"If they are dragging gear, it hinders their ability to swim freely. The worst-case scenario is the whale can't feed or swim."