Two astronauts stranded in space for more than nine months were finally headed home Tuesday after their capsule undocked from the International Space Station. The SpaceX craft carrying Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams detached from the orbital outpost at 0505 GMT, according to images broadcast by NASA, ending the astronauts' prolonged mission that has captivated global attention.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams began their return to Earth on March 18, 2025, after over nine months on the International Space Station (ISS). Their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule undocked from the ISS at 1:05 a.m. ET (0505 GMT) for a 17-hour trip home, concluding a mission that started in June 2024.
They launched on June 5, 2024, aboard Boeing’s Starliner for an eight-day test flight, its first crewed mission. However, Starliner faced helium leaks and thruster issues, docking on June 6. NASA decided in August 2024 that it was unsafe for return, and Starliner was sent back empty in September, leaving Wilmore and Williams on the ISS. They joined Expedition 71/72, staying longer than planned.
On the ISS, they worked on research and maintenance. Williams, on her third flight, became ISS commander and conducted spacewalks with Wilmore. Their tasks included the Gaucho Lung study on airway drug delivery and setting up the ArgUS Mission-1 for external communications testing.
Their Crew Dragon capsule undocked autonomously, performing departure and phasing burns. It will reenter Earth’s atmosphere at over 17,000 miles per hour, with a deorbit burn at 5 p.m. ET (2100 GMT). Parachutes—drogue at 18,000 feet, main at 6,500 feet—will slow it for a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico at 5:57 p.m. ET (2157 GMT), weather permitting. After splashdown, the crew will undergo medical checks before returning to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Their 286-day stay exceeded the usual six months. Williams will have logged 608 days in space, ranking second among U.S. astronauts. The mission underscored Boeing’s Starliner issues and SpaceX’s reliability, with NASA prioritizing safety over a faster return.
