Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have returned to Earth after what was initially intended to be an eight-day mission that unexpectedly turned into a nine-month stay in space. They were accompanied on their journey back by NASA’s Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, forming the NASA/SpaceX Crew-9 team.
The astronauts came back aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which splashed down off Florida’s coast at 3:27 am. During the recovery operation, dolphins were seen swimming around the capsule. The recovery team successfully retrieved the capsule from the water, and the astronauts exited it for the first time since September. They were then transported to Houston for a 45-day rehabilitation program.
Crew-9 undocked from the International Space Station at 10:35 am IST, and NASA shared a video showing the spacecraft’s separation. SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, was responsible for bringing Crew-9 back to Earth, with the Dragon capsule launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Following their return, Crew-10 replaced Crew-9 at the space station.
Williams and Wilmore, both former Navy pilots, initially traveled to the ISS on June 5 last year for an eight-day mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. However, the Starliner experienced propulsion issues, which left them stranded in space. The spacecraft was deemed unfit for their return and flew back uncrewed in September.
Due to the uncertainty surrounding their return, NASA reassigned them to the SpaceX Crew-9 mission. A Dragon spacecraft, launched in September with only two crew members instead of the usual four, was sent to the ISS to make space for the stranded astronauts. After a series of delays, a new Dragon spacecraft carrying the replacement crew successfully docked with the ISS on Sunday.
