Astronauts stranded on the International Space Station since June were relieved to welcome rescuers from a SpaceX capsule on Sunday.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fired off Saturday carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbunov of the Russian Space Agency on the rescue mission to help Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams get home.

'As much as I’ve laughed and cried in the last 10 minutes, I know it’s going to be an amazing expedition.'

The two have been stranded since a Boeing Starliner capsule experienced thruster failures and helium leaks, leading NASA to seek the SpaceX alternative out of safety concerns. It was the first Starliner test flight with a crew, but it returned to Earth empty.

The Dragon capsule docked with the space station 265 miles above Botswana.

The SpaceX visitors were greeted by nine astronauts in the space station, which is normally manned by only seven people. Four of them can now return to Earth in the Dragon space capsule.

Wilmore and Williams will have to wait until February to return. They were originally meant to be on the space station for only a week's length.

“I just want to say welcome to our new compadres,” said Williams.

“Coming through the hatch and seeing all the smiles, and as much as I’ve laughed and cried in the last 10 minutes, I know it’s going to be an amazing expedition,” said Hague.

The seven people at the space station apart from Willmore and Williams have been on the station since March because of the Boeing debacle in June.

Boeing released a brief statement after NASA announced in August that SpaceX would take on the rescue mission.

"We continue to focus, first and foremost, on the safety of the crew and spacecraft. We are executing the mission as determined by NASA, and we are preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful uncrewed return," the company said on the X platform.

Critics have called on lawmakers to reconsider the very expensive NASA missions.

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