The SpaceX capsule sent to bring two astronauts stranded at the International Space Station back to Earth next year has docked. NASA switched Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to SpaceX following concerns over the safety of their Boeing Starliner capsule.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station since June welcomed their new ride home with Sunday's arrival of a SpaceX capsule.

Two astronauts relinquished their seats on a four-person spacecraft so that their colleagues could return to Earth from the ISS, where they’ve been stuck since June.

Because NASA rotates space station crews approximately every six months, this newly launched flight with two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams won’t return until late February. Officials said there wasn’t a way to bring them back earlier on SpaceX without interrupting other scheduled missions.

The SpaceX capsule will eventually bring home Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the NASA astronauts who piloted the Boeing Starliner test flight.

NASA decided using the Boeing Starliner capsule to bring Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth was too risky following a string of technical glitches on their outwards journey.

After docking was completed, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov boarded the station just after 7:00 pm, embracing their floating colleagues.

THE SPACEX CREW that will retrieve the two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station has docked with the orbiting laboratory, a live stream of the mission showed. Astronauts Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams launched into space aboard Boeing’s Starliner on 5 June for what was meant to be an eight-day stay.

Stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are expected to return home in February after SpaceX capsule docks at International Space Station

The SpaceX capsule will eventually bring home Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the NASA astronauts who piloted the Boeing Starliner test flight.