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The spacecraft has finally set a return date for its stranded astronauts - and it appears the pair won't have to wait much longer to return to Earth.
The International Space Station (ISS) has been in space for more than eight months.
Although their return craft has been docked at the station since September, Williams and Wilmore have been unable to leave.
The mission was initially planned for late March, but the space agency has now announced that it is 'accelerating' the launch to reach the new target date of Wednesday, March 12.
Crew 9, which includes Williams and Wilmore, will then spend a few days handing over to the new arrivals before embarking on their return journey to Earth.
The mission is set to launch "pending mission readiness," but additional delays may occur if a suitable weather window is not available.
Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, comments: 'Human spaceflight is full of unexpected challenges.
SpaceX's agility in meeting the agency's evolving needs continues to be demonstrated.'
Wilmore and Williams first docked at the ISS on June 5 last year aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, but became stranded after the experimental vehicle encountered severe technical problems.
By the time the capsule arrived at the station, it had developed several helium leaks, and five of its 28 engines were no longer functioning.
After weeks of testing, NASA finally concluded that Starliner was not safe enough to carry astronauts back to Earth and in September, the spacecraft was sent back to Earth unoccupied.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft scheduled to return had an arrival date later that month.
They must wait for the handover with Crew 10 before departing the station.
Inside a cutting-edge SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
However, the mission had to be postponed due to SpaceX's inability to finish building and testing the new capsule by schedule.
NASA has announced that this latest schedule adjustment is a result of SpaceX's agreement to utilize a Crew Dragon spacecraft called Endurance, which has already undergone three previous missions.
SpaceX and NASA are currently collaborating to inspect the spacecraft's hardware, renovate its interior, and prepare it for launch.
The spacecraft will take off with astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers from NASA, Takuya Onishi from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Kirill Peskov from Roscosmos.
The Crew-10 astronauts will then meet with Williams and Wilmore on the International Space Station for a short handover period during which they will become familiar with the current scientific and maintenance projects.
Finally, Crew 9 will return home with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, and Nick Hague, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
The capsule is expected to land safely in the ocean off the coast of Florida, pending favorable weather conditions.
He blamed delays on former President Joe Biden.
In a statement posted to his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: "I have just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to 'go get' the two brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned by the Biden administration."
He added: 'Elon will be departing soon. I hope everything will be secure. Good luck, Elon!!!'
In response, Musk tweeted: "The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so."
It's unfortunate that the Biden administration allowed them to remain there for such a long time.
These statements caused widespread confusion on social media, given that SpaceX was originally tasked with bringing the pair home several months ago by the Biden administration.
Similarly, despite the most recent setbacks caused by SpaceX, Musk has been quick to hail the accelerated timeline.
In a post on X, Elon Musk wrote: 'They're coming home.'
In January, Wilmore and Williams stated they were still in high spirits, noting they had an abundance of food and were thoroughly enjoying their time on the space station.
There has been increasing worry about the health of the pair.
Williams has disputed these claims, attributing her unusual fluid distribution in space to zero gravity and stating that she has actually developed muscle mass in her legs.
After 234 days spent in space.
The astronaut has spent enough time in space, trying to recall the sensation of walking. "I've tried to remember what it's like to walk," she said in a video conference with students at Needham High School in Massachusetts. "I haven't walked. I haven't sat down. I haven't laid down."
However, NASA asserts that their astronauts are trained for prolonged stays in space and that some degradation of muscle function is entirely typical.
Their mission will have lasted two months longer than the typical long-duration ISS mission, which usually lasts six months.
Their extended stay on the ISS is noteworthy, but it has not yet exceeded the record set by Frank Rubio, who spent 371 days on the ISS in 2023 after a Russian spacecraft meant to take him back suffered a coolant leak.
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