SpaceX's Crew Dragon successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, opening a hatch to reunite with astronauts who had been stranded for over nine months.

Live footage captured the emotional moment as the Crew Dragon astronauts embraced their ISS counterparts in zero gravity shortly after 05:45 GMT.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams had been stuck aboard the space station since June after the Boeing Starliner, which they were testing on its maiden crewed flight, experienced propulsion failures and was deemed unsafe for their return to Earth.

What was originally planned as a brief, days-long mission for Wilmore and Williams has now stretched beyond nine months—far exceeding the standard six-month ISS rotation for astronauts.

However, their extended stay is still significantly shorter than the U.S. spaceflight record of 371 days, set by NASA astronaut Frank Rubio in 2023, or the world record of 437 continuous days aboard the Mir space station, held by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov.

Despite not breaking records, the unexpected length of their mission—separating them from their families and requiring additional supplies such as clothing and personal care items—has drawn widespread interest and sympathy.