Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore have returned to Earth after a nine-month keep on the International Space Station — a visit that lasted far longer than initially deliberate due to leaks and thruster issues on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they used to get there.
Williams and Wilmore splashed down within the Gulf of Mexico in a SpaceX Dragon capsule at 5:57 p.m. ET on Tuesday, after a 17-hour return journey from the ISS.
Their return marks the top of one of many stranger chapters in latest spaceflight historical past, due to the issues that Boeing’s Starliner skilled and the best way that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has politicized the astronauts’ return.
Williams and Wilmore initially launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in June 2024 as a part of a mission that was essential to Boeing’s try and compete in opposition to SpaceX. The aviation behemoth gained a contract alongside SpaceX in 2014 to ship astronauts to the ISS for NASA with an eye fixed on finally carrying them even additional out into the photo voltaic system.
SpaceX carried out its first crewed flight with its Crew Dragon spacecraft in 2020 — in the course of the early days of the covid pandemic. Boeing’s Starliner venture, in the meantime, was dragged down by value overruns and delays.
The flight in June 2024 was supposed to assist Boeing look previous all that. The purpose was to ship Williams and Wilmore to the ISS after which carry them again residence after a brief keep. But Starliner skilled issues earlier than they even docked with the ISS. Once they lastly received aboard, NASA and Boeing spent a number of weeks performing exams earlier than deciding to carry Starliner again with out the astronauts.
NASA shortly began working with SpaceX on a plan to carry Willams and Wilmore again. After some backwards and forwards, they determined to attend till early 2025 to carry the duo residence in order that the ISS wouldn’t be short-staffed.
In latest months, although, Musk has claimed (with out offering any proof) that he provided to carry the astronauts residence earlier — and that former President Joe Biden declined the supply as a result of it will assist his political rival Donald Trump.
NASA’s former administrator and deputy administrator beneath Biden have each mentioned the area company was not conscious of any supply. CNN reported on Tuesday that senior White House officers additionally declare they weren’t conscious of any supply.
Watch the crew return to earth:
This story was up to date to incorporate a video of the astronauts returning.
