What was supposed to be a short visit turned into an extended stay, but at long last, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have safely returned to Earth.
Originally scheduled for just a week at the International Space Station (ISS) after launching aboard Boeing’s Starliner on its first crewed mission in June, the duo ended up spending more than nine months in orbit due to unexpected spacecraft issues.
Their long-awaited journey home concluded with a splashdown off the coast of Florida at 5:57 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The astronauts made their return inside a SpaceX Dragon capsule alongside fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The group, known as Crew-9, had departed the ISS at 1:05 a.m. ET earlier that day.
The mission’s conclusion marks the end of an unusual and dramatic period in spaceflight history. Williams and Wilmore encountered problems with Starliner’s thrusters while attempting to dock at the ISS, prompting NASA to eventually bring the Boeing spacecraft back to Earth in September without a crew.
While Starliner returned empty, the two astronauts remained aboard the ISS, aligning their journey home with Hague and Gorbunov, who had arrived in September for a planned six-month mission. Now, after an extended stay, Williams and Wilmore are finally back on solid ground.
