SpaceX, a private aerospace company founded by Elon Musk, initiated a rescue mission that took off today, featuring two astronauts on board while leaving two vacant seats to bring back American astronauts who have been stuck at the International Space Station for an extended period, as reported by NASA. The launch occurred from a recently employed launch pad at Cape Canaveral, marking it as the first time this pad has been utilized for a crewed mission.

Onboard the Falcon 9 rocket are NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson expressed congratulations on the successful launch via a post on social media platform X, highlighting the thrilling phase of space exploration currently taking place.

The rescue mission is set to return Wilmore and Williams to Earth in February after their unexpected prolonged duration aboard the ISS, a situation caused by technical difficulties encountered with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft. The Starliner had undergone its inaugural crewed flight during which it transported Wilmore and Williams to the ISS, but complications with its propulsion system forced NASA to revise their plans, extending the astronauts' scheduled stay from an initial eight days.