Sunita, Butch back on Earth after nine months in space
WASHINGTON, 2 days ago
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are back on Earth after nine unplanned months in space. The duo left Earth in June for an eight-day mission to test Boeing Starliner's capsule, but got stranded there after their capsule suffered technical issues.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams returned to Earth in a SpaceX capsule early this morning with a soft splashdown off Florida’s coast, nine months after their faulty Boeing Starliner craft upended what was to be a week-long stay on the International Space Station.
Their return caps a protracted space mission that was fraught with uncertainty and technical troubles and turned a rare instance of Nasa’s contingency planning – and the latest failures of Boeing’s Starliner – into a global spectacle.
Wilmore and Williams, two veteran Nasa astronauts and retired US Navy test pilots, had strapped inside their Crew Dragon spacecraft along with two other astronauts and undocked from the orbiting laboratory of the ISS at 1.05am ET (0505 GMT) to embark on a 17-hour trip to Earth.
Dressed in re-entry suits, boots and helmets, the astronauts were seen earlier on Nasa’s live footage laughing, hugging and posing for photos with their colleagues from the station shortly before they were shut into the capsule for two hours of final pressure, communications and seal tests.
After the splashdown, the astronauts were flown to their crew quarters at the space agency’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston for several days of health checks, per routine for astronaut returns, before Nasa flight surgeons approve they can go home to their families.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore waved and smiled as they emerged from the SpaceX Dragon, which splashed down off the coast of Florida, reported BBC.
A pod of dolphins inspected Suni and Butch's capsule as it bobbed in the ocean, waiting to be pulled aboard a rescue ship.
US President Donald Trump lauded the efforts to bring stuck Nasa Crew-9 astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to the Earth on Wednesday.
The White House released a statement mentioning Trump prioritised the return of stranded NASA Crew-9 astronauts Sunita Williams, Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
The President asserted that the astronauts safely returned to the Gulf of America, crediting billionaire Elon Musk for their safe return.
"Promise Made, Promise Kept: President Trump pledged to rescue the astronauts stranded in space for nine months. Today, they safely splashed down in the Gulf of America, thanks to @ElonMusk,
@SpaceX, and @NASA !," the White House posted on X.
Nasa’s SpaceX Crew-9 completed the agency’s ninth commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station on Tuesday, splashing down safely in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, in the Gulf of America.
Musk congratulated the NASA and SpaceX teams on their successful return and thanked Trump for prioritising the mission.
Trump said that astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore would visit the White House once they have recovered. Living in space for months can affect the human body in multiple ways, from muscle atrophy to possible vision impairment.
When asked about their visit by a Fox News reporter, Trump responded, “Well, they have to get better. You know, when you are up there and you have no pull on your muscle, you have no gravity, you can lift a thousand pounds like this.”
"They have to get better. It will be a little bit tough for them. It's not easy, you know. They were up for a long time and when they do, they will come to the Oval office." he added.
Along with US, the whole of India too joined in celebrating the return of their 'illustrious daughter' with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading from the front along with his ministers.
Modi on Wednesday hailed 'India's daughter' Sunita Williams' return to Earth from International Space station and said that the determination of crew 9 will inspire millions.
In a social media post on X, PM Modi said that that the mission to ISS was a test of grit, courage and boundless human spirit.
"Welcome back, Crew 9! The Earth missed you. Theirs has been a test of grit, courage and the boundless human spirit. Sunita Williams and the Crew 9 astronauts have once again shown us what perseverance truly means. Their unwavering determination in the face of the vast unknown will forever inspire millions," PM Modi said.
