NASA has announced that US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, stranded on the International Space Station, will return to Earth on Tuesday. Their return, aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, follows a prolonged stay due to Boeing Starliner issues. The splashdown is targeted for Tuesday evening off the Florida coast, weather permitting.
Two US astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, are finally returning to Earth after spending over nine months on the International Space Station (ISS). NASA confirmed that they will land on Tuesday evening aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule.
Wilmore and Williams originally traveled to the ISS in June 2024 on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Their trip was supposed to last just over a week. However, technical issues with the capsule left them unable to return as planned. NASA later decided to bring Starliner back to Earth without the astronauts, making way for an alternative return arrangement.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon mission, which launched from Kennedy Space Center on Friday, successfully docked at the ISS on Sunday. The two astronauts will be joined on their trip home by NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
NASA has scheduled the hatch closure preparations to begin late Monday night. The capsule is expected to detach from the ISS shortly after, with an ocean landing off the Florida coast around 5:57 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday. The process will be broadcast live.
Wilmore and Williams’ extended stay has drawn significant interest, as they were not originally prepared for such a long mission. NASA had to send them extra clothing and other personal items to support their extended time in orbit.
Not The First Case Of Similar Circumstance
Although their stay was much longer than planned, it is still shorter than the US record of 371 days set by astronaut Frank Rubio in 2023. The world record remains with Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437 days aboard the Mir space station.
NASA cited changing weather conditions later in the week as the reason for slightly adjusting the return schedule. The shift allows time for crew handovers and ensures a smoother process for the departing astronauts.
Their return will mark the end of an unexpected extension in space, but their experience has contributed valuable insights into long-duration missions.
