What was supposed to be an 8 day long test flight turned into a 9 month long ordeal after Sunita (Suni) Williams and Barry (Butch) Wilmore’s return spacecraft, Boeing’s Starliner, was deemed unsafe for the return trip.
At 7:57 a.m Sydney time, the pair finally landed off the coast of Florida along with two other astronauts, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who had joined them at the International Space Station (ISS) in September of last year. Upon splashdown, Hague reported that all was well onboard.
Videos of the first stage of the operation, where the replacement crew, dubbed Crew-10 finally docked with the ISS had been circulated widely. An ecstatic Williams can be seen welcoming the passengers onboard to the spacecraft that housed them for 9 months. After a short handover, the crew undocked from the space station. The entire journey was live streamed by NASA. Suni Williams
Whilst their 9 month stay is by no means record-breaking, it far exceeded the average ISS expedition, which typically lasts 6 months. It sparked concerns for the astronauts physical and mental health. Especially due to the fact that experiencing microgravity for an extended period of time can lead to decreased bone density.
Splashdown confirmed! #Crew9 is now back on Earth in their @SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. pic.twitter.com/G5tVyqFbAu
— NASA (@NASA) March 18, 2025
However, Williams has previously asserted that she and Wilmore were in fact thriving, even posting a photo of them wearing red Santa hats as they celebrated Christmas together. She shared that they had established a routine for themselves during this time to ensure that they could balance their workload and the stress of keeping up operations with sufficient leisure time. Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore
Sunita Williams first became an astronaut in 1998 and has completed two space missions. She served as a flight engineer in her first expedition and established a world record amongst females for the most spacewalks, that is time spent engaging in physical activity outside a spacecraft. However, her record was beaten by astronaut Peggy Whitson in 2008. Williams has also logged a total of 322 days in space prior to the mission.
Williams is the second Indian woman to venture into space, after Kalpana Chawla who unfortunately passed away in the Columbia disaster. She’s known for proudly expressing her culture at the workplace. In one instance she took both a samosa and a Carniolan sausage to space in recognition of her Indian and Slovakian ancestry. What makes her stand out is her infectious enthusiasm for all things space. Throughout her years at NASA, she’s given video tours of the International Space Station and posted videos on the day in the life of an astronaut at the ISS.
Wilmore is also a highly experienced astronaut having first flown to space in 2009 on board the Space Shuttle Atlantis. He has logged a total of 178 days in space before the Boeing Starliner mission. Suni Williams
We’re getting our first look at #Crew9 since their return to Earth! Recovery teams will now help the crew out of Dragon, a standard process for all crew members after returning from long-duration missions. pic.twitter.com/yD2KVUHSuq
— NASA (@NASA) March 18, 2025
So what happens now that they’re back? They will immediately be flown into their crew quarters at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston to undergo a physical check up. Once receiving the all clear, they will return to their families. They will likely also have to undergo a long process of rehabilitation.
Trump asserts that the delays, despite being a product of technical errors, were evidence that Biden had abandoned the crew. This is an allegation that the astronauts have refuted.
Whilst the rescue mission has been subject to international attention both due to the risks involved as well as due to Trump’s comments on the Biden administration, their arrival is a relief to all. Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore
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