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.

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 two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station since June are welcoming their new ride home CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station since June welcomed their new ride home with Sunday’s arrival of a SpaceX capsule.

The SpaceX capsule will eventually bring home Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the NASA astronauts who piloted the Boeing Starliner test flight.

The craft will return Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams - stranded since June - to Earth.