NASA astronauts land back on Earth following a 9-month stint in space
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams made their return to Earth on Tuesday, concluding a journey that began over nine months ago with a problematic test flight, and they took a different ride home for this transition.
TroibNews 
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have returned to Earth, concluding a unique saga that began with a faulty test flight over nine months ago. The duo made their splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday evening, shortly after departing the International Space Station. Their capsule landed off the coast of Tallahassee in Florida, bringing an unexpected journey to a close.
Less than an hour post-splashdown, the astronauts emerged from their capsule, smiling and waving at cameras while being transported on reclined stretchers for standard medical evaluations.
This unusual situation stemmed from a problematic Boeing test flight last spring. Wilmore and Williams originally planned for a brief stay, expecting to return just a week after launching aboard Boeing's new Starliner crew capsule on June 5. However, several issues arose en route to the space station, prompting NASA to send the Starliner back empty and transfer the test pilots to a SpaceX mission, delaying their return to February. Additional problems with the SpaceX capsule contributed to another month's hold-up.
The arrival of their replacement crew on Sunday finally enabled Wilmore and Williams to depart. NASA made the decision to send them back earlier than scheduled due to an unfavorable weather forecast later in the week. They said their goodbyes to NASA's Nick Hague and Russia's Alexander Gorbunov, who had arrived in their own SpaceX capsule last fall, with two seats kept available for the Starliner astronauts.
Wilmore and Williams ultimately spent 286 days in space—278 days longer than initially planned. By the time of their splashdown, they had orbited Earth 4,576 times and traveled 121 million miles.
"On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home," communications from SpaceX Mission Control in California announced.
"What a ride," replied Hague, the capsule's commander. "I see a capsule full of grins ear to ear."
Dolphins swam around the capsule as divers prepared it for recovery. Once safely aboard the recovery ship, the side hatch was opened, and the astronauts were assisted out one by one. Williams was next-to-last to exit, followed by Wilmore, who gave two gloved thumbs-up.
Their ordeal drew widespread attention, giving new resonance to "stuck at work" and turning "Butch and Suni" into familiar names. While some astronauts have experienced longer missions, none had to face the same level of uncertainty or such an extended timeline.
During their stay, Wilmore and Williams transitioned from guests to active crew members, conducting experiments, repairing equipment, and even spacewalking together. Williams set a record for cumulative spacewalking time among female astronauts, accumulating 62 hours across nine spacewalks.
Having both previously lived on the space station, they were well-prepared for their mission and refreshed their training before launch. Williams served as the station’s commander starting three months into their mission and held that position until earlier this month.
In January, the mission took an unexpected turn when President Donald Trump requested that SpaceX founder Elon Musk expedite the astronauts' return, attributing the delays to the Biden administration. However, since the replacement crew’s new SpaceX capsule was not ready, SpaceX provided a previously used capsule, speeding up the timeline by several weeks.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
Less than an hour post-splashdown, the astronauts emerged from their capsule, smiling and waving at cameras while being transported on reclined stretchers for standard medical evaluations.
This unusual situation stemmed from a problematic Boeing test flight last spring. Wilmore and Williams originally planned for a brief stay, expecting to return just a week after launching aboard Boeing's new Starliner crew capsule on June 5. However, several issues arose en route to the space station, prompting NASA to send the Starliner back empty and transfer the test pilots to a SpaceX mission, delaying their return to February. Additional problems with the SpaceX capsule contributed to another month's hold-up.
The arrival of their replacement crew on Sunday finally enabled Wilmore and Williams to depart. NASA made the decision to send them back earlier than scheduled due to an unfavorable weather forecast later in the week. They said their goodbyes to NASA's Nick Hague and Russia's Alexander Gorbunov, who had arrived in their own SpaceX capsule last fall, with two seats kept available for the Starliner astronauts.
Wilmore and Williams ultimately spent 286 days in space—278 days longer than initially planned. By the time of their splashdown, they had orbited Earth 4,576 times and traveled 121 million miles.
"On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home," communications from SpaceX Mission Control in California announced.
"What a ride," replied Hague, the capsule's commander. "I see a capsule full of grins ear to ear."
Dolphins swam around the capsule as divers prepared it for recovery. Once safely aboard the recovery ship, the side hatch was opened, and the astronauts were assisted out one by one. Williams was next-to-last to exit, followed by Wilmore, who gave two gloved thumbs-up.
Their ordeal drew widespread attention, giving new resonance to "stuck at work" and turning "Butch and Suni" into familiar names. While some astronauts have experienced longer missions, none had to face the same level of uncertainty or such an extended timeline.
During their stay, Wilmore and Williams transitioned from guests to active crew members, conducting experiments, repairing equipment, and even spacewalking together. Williams set a record for cumulative spacewalking time among female astronauts, accumulating 62 hours across nine spacewalks.
Having both previously lived on the space station, they were well-prepared for their mission and refreshed their training before launch. Williams served as the station’s commander starting three months into their mission and held that position until earlier this month.
In January, the mission took an unexpected turn when President Donald Trump requested that SpaceX founder Elon Musk expedite the astronauts' return, attributing the delays to the Biden administration. However, since the replacement crew’s new SpaceX capsule was not ready, SpaceX provided a previously used capsule, speeding up the timeline by several weeks.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
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