NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are back on Earth—after an unplanned nine-month stay on the International Space Station (ISS).
Originally set to stay just a week after launching on Boeing’s first crewed Starliner mission in June, the duo faced unexpected technical issues with the spacecraft’s thrusters, forcing NASA to leave the Starliner grounded and extend their time in orbit.
A Long-Awaited Return
After months of delays, Williams and Wilmore finally made their way home aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule. Alongside NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, they undocked from the ISS at 1:05 a.m. ET on Tuesday. The Crew-9 team safely splashed down off the coast of Florida at 5:57 p.m. ET.
Their return marks the end of a dramatic chapter in modern spaceflight. Last year, Starliner encountered docking issues due to thruster malfunctions. NASA ultimately decided to send the spacecraft back to Earth in September—without a crew on board. Meanwhile, Williams and Wilmore remained on the ISS and aligned their return with Hague and Gorbunov, who had arrived in September for their own six-month mission.
Now that they’re back, NASA will likely focus on analyzing the issues with Starliner before making future crewed flight decisions.