NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who spent nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), departed for Earth in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule early on Tuesday.
Their return followed a prolonged stay caused by issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, originally meant for a short test mission, reports Reuters.
Wilmore, Williams, and two other astronauts undocked from the ISS at 1:05 AM ET, embarking on a 17-hour journey home, with a scheduled splashdown off Florida's coast at 5:57 PM ET.
The Crew-9 mission, led by Commander Nick Hague, marked the end of an unusually extended mission. The astronauts had launched in June aboard Starliner, which faced propulsion system failures, causing significant delays. As a result, NASA switched their return to SpaceX's Crew Dragon, highlighting challenges with Boeing’s spacecraft.
The astronauts' homecoming was closely watched, with U.S. President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk advocating for an earlier return. The mission also sparked political controversy. Following splashdown, Wilmore and Williams will undergo health checks at NASA's Johnson Space Center before being reunited with their families.
Living in space for months has physical consequences, and their 286 days in orbit, while longer than the typical six-month mission, falls short of the U.S. record. Williams, who completed her third spaceflight, now ranks second for most cumulative days in space among U.S. astronauts.
Before departing, Wilmore and Williams participated in routine ISS research and maintenance, including spacewalks. Their mission was part of NASA’s astronaut rotation, with Crew-10 arriving on Friday to replace them. Despite the delays, Wilmore expressed pride in the resilience of the space program’s contingency planning.
Bd-pratidin English/FNC
