Reaching orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the newest crew includes NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, both military pilots; and Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russia’s Kirill Peskov, both former airline pilots. They will spend the next six months at the space station, considered the normal stint, after springing Wilmore and Williams free.

A SpaceX capsule carrying a fresh crew to the space station launched Friday, setting the stage for the Starliner astronauts to finally come home.

The delayed mission must reach the space station before the two astronauts who've been "stuck" in space can return home.