UPDATED 12:45 PM ET Feb. 12, 2025 PUBLISHED 12:02 PM ET Feb. 12, 2025 PUBLISHED 12:02 PM EST Feb. 12, 2025 SHARE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — The SpaceX Dragon capsule has been changed for the Crew-10 launch, which will now be launching a bit earlier than expected and means that the Starliner crew that has been onboard the International Space Station since last summer will get home sooner, stated NASA. What You Need To Know NASA stated that it is “accelerating” the target launch of the Crew-10 mission It means Starliner mission astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Butch Wilmore will return home sooner In June 2024, they left on the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule in what was supposed to be an eightish-day mission to the International Space Station. However, the capsule experienced leaking hydrogen fuel and thruster issues that resulted in the pair staying on the space station for months longer. (Scroll down to view an interactive timeline of events.) The Starliner returned to Earth empty in September 2024 due to safety concerns and the Crew-9 mission was launched weeks later. Once that mission ends, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will return home with Wilmore and Williams. In January, President Donald Trump stated that he asked Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, to “go get” Williams and Wilmore. A return of a familiar Dragon capsule NASA did not state why the new Dragon spacecraft would not be flying for the Crew-10 mission. It has been reported that the new Dragon was facing battery issues, and a NASA source revealed to Spectrum News weeks ago that the spacecraft would be switched with another Dragon, two weeks before Trump asked Musk to get the Starliner crew. But NASA did share that a familiar Dragon will be used. “The earlier launch opportunity is available following a decision by mission management to adjust the agency’s original plan to fly a new Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-10 mission that requires additional processing time. The flight now will use a previously flown Dragon, called Endurance …,” NASA confirmed. The Endurance has a strong resume of flying Crew missions to the International Space Station.