By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON (Reuters) -NASA and SpaceX on Friday launched a long-awaited crew to the International Space Station that opens the door to bringing home U.S. astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams,

The crew-swap mission will enable NASA’s Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to return home from the International Space Station.

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.