Two astronauts stranded for more than nine months on the International Space Station (ISS) were a step closer to returning home on Sunday, after a replacement crew docked at the orbital outpost.

The astronauts were shown on live TV embracing and hugging their counterparts in zero gravity, shortly after the SpaceX Crew Dragon craft arrived at 5.45am.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been stuck aboard the ISS since June. The Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were testing on its maiden crewed voyage suffered propulsion issues and was deemed unfit to fly them back to Earth.

Williams said it was a “wonderful day” and “great to see our friends arrive”, shortly after her colleges climbed into the orbiting laboratory.

Footage posted online by Don Pettit, the Nasa astronaut, showed the Crew Dragon vehicle approaching the ISS as it orbited the Earth.