Watch the Successful Comeback: Sunita Williams & Butch Wilmore Return After Spending 9 Months in a Stranded Spaceship.
After spending an incredible nine months in space, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and her fellow crew member Butch Wilmore have finally returned to Earth. They made a safe splashdown early this morning at 3:27 AM (IST) off the coast of Florida in SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore originally launched into space on June 5, 2024, aboard NASA’s Boeing Starliner for what was supposed to be a quick eight-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS). However, things took an unexpected turn when NASA and Boeing discovered helium leaks and issues with the spacecraft’s thrusters just as it approached the ISS.
With the Starliner unable to safely return, NASA decided to send it back empty while the astronauts stayed at the ISS, essentially stranded for months.
After months of uncertainty, it was finally decided in August 2024 that Williams and Wilmore would be reassigned to SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
In January 2025, former U.S. President Donald Trump declared that he would personally ensure their safe return. He publicly asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to bring the astronauts home, calling the delay “terrible” and blaming the Biden administration for keeping them in space for political reasons. Musk later revealed that SpaceX had already offered to bring them back earlier, but the offer was rejected.
PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT: President Trump pledged to rescue the astronauts stranded in space for nine months.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 18, 2025
Today, they safely splashed down in the Gulf of America, thanks to @ElonMusk, @SpaceX, and @NASA! pic.twitter.com/r01hVWAC8S
After all the drama, the astronauts finally splashed down safely today, thanks to the teamwork between NASA, SpaceX, and Musk’s dedication to making the return mission happen.
The White House celebrated the event, posting a video of the landing on X (formerly Twitter) and stating, “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 Elon Musk, SpaceX, and NASA!”
The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2025
Terrible that the Biden administration left them there so long.
