Starliner was originally meant to allow Boeing to carry crews back and forth to the ISS for NASA, making them a rival to SpaceX, so it’s a bitter irony for Boeing that its flight test crew will be coming home in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.

Two astronauts have arrived safely at the International Space Station after Saturday's successful SpaceX launch.

A SpaceX crew on a rescue mission have arrived at the International Space Station, but it will still be some time before stranded Boeing Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can return back to Earth.

Because NASA rotates space station crews approximately every six months, this newly launched flight with two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams won’t return until late February. Officials said there wasn’t a way to bring them back earlier on SpaceX without interrupting other scheduled missions.

SpaceX crew arrived at the ISS to bring two stuck astronauts home. The crew will return to earth in February after a five-month mission.

A SpaceX Crew Dragon space capsule, which is due to bring home stuck astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams next year, arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, according to NASA and SpaceX.

The Dragon capsule has two empty seats for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were only meant to be on the ISS for eight days, but were forced to remain there because of a fault discovered during the flight.

SpaceX launched the rescue mission on Saturday with two seats reserved for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who will return to Earth in 2025.

After their weeklong journey turned into a monthslong stay on the International Space Station, two Boeing Starliner astronauts are now within reach of the spacecraft that will eventually bring them home.

A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft caught up with the International Space Station and moved in for docking Sunday.