International: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have safely returned to Earth after an unplanned nine-month stay in space, marking the end of an unexpectedly extended mission.
They were accompanied by American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, Freedom, which successfully splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Tallahassee at 5:57 PM ET on Tuesday (3:27 AM IST, Wednesday).
The return journey saw the spacecraft endure extreme temperatures of around 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 degrees Celsius) before deploying parachutes for a controlled descent. Following the successful landing, a recovery team is transporting the crew to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they will undergo a 45-day rehabilitation program to readjust to Earth’s gravity.
Wilmore and Williams had originally launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner in June last year for what was planned as an eight-day test mission to assess the spacecraft’s capabilities for human spaceflight. However, severe propulsion system malfunctions forced Starliner to return unmanned, leaving the astronauts unexpectedly stranded on the International Space Station (ISS). Rather than organizing a rushed rescue mission, NASA reassigned the duo to SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, which arrived at the ISS in September. To accommodate them, Crew-9’s original team size was reduced from four to two astronauts.
While their extended stay in space gained them the nickname “stranded astronauts,” NASA maintained that emergency evacuation plans were always in place. The situation captured global attention, turning “Butch and Suni” into widely recognized figures beyond the spaceflight community. Their journey, marked by unexpected challenges and adaptability, now stands as one of the most talked-about missions in recent space history.