CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The replacements for NASA’s two stuck astronauts launched to the International Space Station on Friday night, paving the way for the pair’s return after nine long months.

The launch will mean NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally closing in on their long-awaited flight back to Earth.

The SPHEREx telescope will create the most colorful map of the cosmos, while the four satellites of the PUNCH mission track the evolution of the solar wind in three dimensions.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a crew of four aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft scrubbed prior to liftoff for a mission to the International Space Station from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Renna) (AP)

NASA will livestream the launch Friday night of Crew-10, which will in part replace the Starliner astronauts at the International Space Station.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 7:03 p.m. ET (2303 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying four astronauts who will replace Wilmore and Williams, both of whom are veteran NASA astronauts and retired U.

The Crew-10 mission will allow NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams to return to Earth after spending nine months aboard the International Space Station, far longer than their planned weeklong stay.