On Friday, SpaceX successfully launched a crew of four into space, marking the beginning of a mission that will provide the International Space Station with sufficient crew members to enable astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to return to Earth after their extended nine-month stay.

The Crew-10 mission will involve SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday. The new crew will overlap with the existing one for a few days, and then Williams and Wilmore, along with two other astronauts, are expected to return to Earth as early as March 19, weather permitting.

Although SpaceX crew launches to the ISS have become a routine affair, this particular mission has garnered significant attention due to the unusual circumstances surrounding Williams and Wilmore’s arrival at the station, as well as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s claims that their prolonged stay was a result of interference from former President Joe Biden.

Williams and Wilmore were part of the inaugural crewed launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in June of last year. This test mission was intended to be a crucial milestone in Boeing’s efforts to compete with SpaceX for crewed launches to the ISS.

The Starliner spacecraft was supposed to dock with the ISS for a 10-day period before returning the astronauts to Earth. However, the spacecraft experienced technical issues, including leaks and thruster problems, which delayed its docking with the ISS.

Eventually, the Starliner successfully coupled with the station, allowing the astronauts to board. Nevertheless, Boeing and NASA devoted several weeks to testing and analysis before deciding in August to bring the Starliner back to Earth without its crew.

NASA and SpaceX subsequently agreed to transport the astronauts back to Earth on the next crewed mission to the ISS, Crew-9. To accommodate Williams and Wilmore’s return, two astronauts were removed from that flight. According to NASA, an earlier return flight would have resulted in understaffing on the ISS, so their return was scheduled for February 2025.

During their extended stay on the ISS, Musk has made claims that he offered to return the astronauts earlier, but was rebuffed by the Biden administration for political reasons. Musk has made these assertions on social media and in interviews, including his efforts to assist Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and his subsequent actions as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency.

However, Musk has not provided any evidence to support his claims, and NASA’s former administrator and deputy administrator under Biden have both disputed his account, stating that no such offer was ever received by the space agency’s headquarters.