SpaceX capsule docks to rescue stranded astronauts

A SpaceX capsule sent to bring back two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) has docked.

The Dragon capsule, which has two empty seats for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, docked.

The pair arrived at the station on Boeing's new Starliner capsule for an eight-day mission in June, but were forced to remain there because of a fault discovered during the flight.

They are now expected to return to Earth in February.

The Dragon capsule lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida carrying Nasa astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.

Hague, who has done a previous stint on the ISS, and Gorbunov will join the space station's crew before taking Wilmore and Williams back to Earth.

The docking occurred as the space station flew 426 km above Botswana in southern Africa.

Footage from inside the ISS showed Hague and Gorbunov smiling and posing for photos with the rest of the crew after their arrival.

The original Starliner flight, which launched on 5 June, was that capsule's first test flight with astronauts on board and Boeing's first attempt to take astronauts to the ISS.

During the flight it experienced a number of problems, including leaks of helium - which is used in its propulsion system - and issues with several of its thrusters.

Engineers at Boeing and Nasa spent months investigating, but in late August Nasa decided that it would not be safe to try to bring Wilmore and Williams home aboard the Starliner.

The capsule had already been delayed for several years because of setbacks during its development, as well as issues discovered during uncrewed test flights in 2019 and 2022.

Nasa retired its space shuttle fleet in 2011, leaving it reliant on Russia's Soyuz craft to get to and from the ISS.

Having two American companies to perform the missions has been a key goal of the agency's for some time, and in 2014 Boeing and SpaceX were awarded contracts worth $4.2bn and $2.6bn respectively.