"Stranded" Astronauts Return Safely

Astronauts Return Safely After Prolonged Stay in Space

The American astronauts delayed in space for several months have safely returned to Earth. Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, along with their crewmates Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, splashed down aboard the Dragon spacecraft Freedom off the Florida coast. 

Williams and Wilmore were the original crew for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft during its first crewed test flight in June 2024. However, due to a series of malfunctions—most notably helium leaks in several of the spacecraft’s thrusters—NASA determined that they would not return to Earth aboard Starliner. The spacecraft instead returned autonomously in September 2024, without a crew. The two astronauts remained aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and were reassigned to Crew-9, the ninth crewed mission to the ISS since SpaceX began transporting astronauts in 2020. What was originally planned as an eight-day mission turned into a nine-month stay in orbit.

Safe landing. The first rescue boat approaches the Freedom spacecraft just minutes after splashdown. | Screenshot from NASA’s live broadcast

The decision to keep Williams and Wilmore aboard came at the expense of two astronauts, Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, who had been assigned to Crew-9 but had to forfeit their seats. Hague and Gorbunov launched in September 2024 aboard Freedom, which was sent with two empty seats reserved for Williams and Wilmore. Dragon spacecraft are not only used for crew transport, but also function as emergency shelters and escape vehicles on the ISS. Therefore, the number of available seats on docked spacecraft must always match the number of crew members aboard the station.

Crew-9 was originally scheduled to return in February, but their return was delayed to March due to a holdup in the delivery of the new Dragon spacecraft for Crew-10. That mission finally launched a week ago, and following a few days of handover and overlap, Crew-9’s Dragon spacecraft undocked for a 17-hour journey back to Earth, ending with a smooth splashdown near Tallahassee, in the Gulf of Mexico.

Rescue boats reached the capsule within minutes to prepare it for hoisting onto the recovery vessel. While they waited, the astronauts were greeted by a group of curious dolphins observing the scene. Less than an hour after landing, all four crew members had exited the spacecraft. Onboard the recovery ship, they underwent initial medical evaluations before being flown by helicopter to shore, and subsequently to Houston.

A big smile after returning home. Barry Wilmore, the last of the four astronauts to exit the Dragon spacecraft, on his way to the initial medical examination. | Screenshot from NASA’s live broadcast