NASA Astronauts Return to Earth After Months on ISS: "Grins Ear to Ear"

NASA Astronauts Return to Earth After Months on ISS: "Grins Ear to Ear"

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who had been stuck aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since June 2024, safely returned to Earth on Tuesday evening, over nine months after a technical failure with Boeing's Starliner capsule delayed their originally planned week-long mission.

A SpaceX Dragon capsule, carrying Williams, Wilmore, American astronaut Nicholas Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tallahassee at 5:57 p.m. ET (9:57 p.m. GMT) after a 17-hour descent. The capsule slowed from a speed of 17,000 mph (27,359 km/h) as it entered Earth’s atmosphere, emerging into a clear Florida sky before making a gentle splashdown under four parachutes in what a NASA commentator described as a “calm, glasslike ocean.”

The astronauts were greeted with cheerful messages from mission control: “And splashdown. Crew-9 back on Earth. Nick, Aleksandr, Butch, and Suni, on behalf of SpaceX, welcome home.” Just as the capsule landed, a pod of dolphins swam around the craft, adding to the joyful atmosphere.

Nicholas Hague, the third American on board, responded, “What a ride. I see a capsule full of grins, ear to ear.”

Williams and Wilmore arrived at the ISS on June 6, 2024, intending to stay for about 10 days to evaluate Starliner’s docking and operational capabilities. However, due to a series of technical issues and safety concerns, NASA and Boeing decided to return the capsule to Earth without a crew in September. As a result, Williams and Wilmore’s stay was extended, with them becoming permanent crew members on the ISS to replace astronauts reassigned to other future missions.

The Dragon capsule, named Freedom, undocked from the ISS at 1:05 a.m. ET on Monday, carrying the four astronauts. Before the capsule's departure, NASA’s Anne McClain bid them farewell from the ISS, saying, “We’ll miss you, but have a great journey home.”

While in the capsule, the astronauts laughed, hugged, and posed for photos as they awaited the final pressure, communication, and seal tests. Once the capsule splashed down, recovery crews quickly lifted it onto a vessel, and the astronauts were transferred onto stretchers for medical evaluation, a standard procedure. Hague was the first to emerge from the capsule, followed by Gorbunov, Williams, and Wilmore to cheers and applause from the recovery team. Williams, smiling, gave a thumbs-up, while Wilmore shook hands with crew members and waved.

Williams, who holds the second-longest combined time in space for a U.S. astronaut, has spent 608 days in space over three missions. Only Peggy Whitson, the former head of NASA’s astronaut office, has more with 675 days.

The astronauts’ prolonged stay in space became the subject of political controversy when Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, suggested that they had been “abandoned” by the Biden administration. Former President Donald Trump also claimed that the astronauts’ return was a special rescue mission authorized by the White House. However, Wilmore later clarified that they did not feel abandoned or stranded, adding that the rhetoric around their situation should be changed to “prepared and committed.”

In the midst of the controversy, Musk engaged in a public dispute with astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who accused Musk of spreading misinformation. The dispute escalated when Musk called Mogensen “fully retarded” and continued to clash with retired astronauts and members of Congress, including Senator Mark Kelly, over space policies.

Meanwhile, the future of Boeing’s Starliner capsule remains uncertain as engineers continue to investigate the issues that arose during its first crewed flight, including thruster malfunctions and small helium leaks. The capsule is not expected to fly again in 2025, although Boeing remains confident in the spacecraft and is working to secure a new flight readiness certification

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