After an unexpected nine-month stay in space, two NASA astronauts returned to Earth on Tuesday, ending a mission that garnered global attention and became a political flashpoint.
A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, American Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, descended through the atmosphere before deploying parachutes for a smooth splashdown off Florida’s coast at 5:57 pm (2157 GMT).
Ground teams cheered as the gumdrop-shaped capsule, named Freedom, bobbed in the water beneath a clear sky, having withstood re-entry temperatures of 3,500°F (2,000°C).
“What a ride — I see a capsule full of grins,” said Hague.
As safety boats approached the capsule, a playful pod of dolphins appeared as an unexpected escort. A larger recovery vessel soon hoisted Freedom aboard. The astronauts were helped out onto mobility aids, waving and giving thumbs-up signs.
They will be flown to Houston, where they’ll meet their families in the coming days and begin a rehabilitation program.
The White House posted, “PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT,” repeating a controversial claim that President Donald Trump’s administration had expedited the recovery timeline.
The crew had left the International Space Station (ISS) early Sunday, starting their 17-hour journey home after final farewells with the remaining crew. Wilmore and Williams, both Navy veterans, arrived at the ISS last June for what was supposed to be a brief test mission with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
However, propulsion issues made the spacecraft unfit for their return, leaving them “stranded” in space. They were reassigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which arrived at the ISS in September with just two astronauts, instead of the usual four, to accommodate Wilmore and Williams.
With Crew-10’s arrival on Sunday, Crew-9 was cleared to return. Wilmore and Williams’ 286-day stay surpassed the typical six-month rotation but ranks sixth in US history. Frank Rubio holds the US record for the longest single mission at 371 days, while Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov holds the global record at 437 days.
Despite challenges like muscle and bone loss, vision problems, and balance issues, experts say their extended stay didn’t pose significant health risks. The unexpected duration sparked public sympathy.
“If you found out you went to work today and were going to be stuck in your office for the next nine months, you might have a panic attack,” said Joseph Keebler, a psychologist. “These individuals have shown unbelievable resilience.”
The astronauts’ extended mission also became a political issue, with President Trump and his advisor Elon Musk, who leads SpaceX, accusing former president Joe Biden of abandoning the astronauts and rejecting earlier rescue plans. These claims sparked backlash in the space community, as Musk didn’t provide specifics, and NASA’s plan for the astronauts’ return remained unchanged since their Crew-9 reassignment.
Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, confirmed that there were no plans to send a relief crew earlier, and delays were due to SpaceX’s scheduling adjustments.
Trump also made headlines with his odd comments, referring to Williams as “the woman with the wild hair” and speculating about her relationship with Wilmore. “They’ve been left up there – I hope they like each other, maybe they love each other, I don’t know,” he said during a press conference.
