NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore Return to Earth After Extended Space Mission

TDT | Manama

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NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore safely returned to Earth on Wednesday after what was initially planned as an eight-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) stretched into an unexpected nine-month stay.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the astronauts splashed down off the coast of Florida at 21:27 UTC (2:57 am IST). Recovery teams on board SpaceX vessels swiftly retrieved the spacecraft and its crew, which included astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Nick Hague, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

Moments after touchdown, the astronauts were seen smiling and waving as they were assisted for routine medical evaluations following their extended stay in space.

"We are thrilled to have Suni, Butch, Nick, and Aleksandr home after their months-long mission conducting vital science, technology demonstrations, and maintenance aboard the International Space Station. Per President Trump’s direction, NASA and SpaceX worked diligently to pull the schedule a month earlier," said NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro.

Williams and Wilmore were originally expected to spend just over a week in space after launching aboard Boeing's Starliner crew capsule on June 5. However, multiple technical issues with Starliner prevented its return mission, forcing NASA to repeatedly delay their journey back to Earth. Initially scheduled for February, their return was further postponed due to additional complications with the replacement spacecraft.

Over the course of their mission, Williams and Wilmore traveled an astounding 121,347,491 miles, spent 286 days in space, and completed 4,576 orbits around Earth.

Sunita Williams, 59, a former U.S. Navy captain, was born on September 19, 1965, in Ohio to a Gujarati father, Deepak Pandya, and a Slovenian mother, Ursuline Bonnie Pandya. On this latest mission, Williams set a new world record for the most time spent spacewalking by a woman, further cementing her legacy in space exploration.

The return of the astronauts marks the conclusion of an unexpectedly prolonged yet significant mission, underscoring the challenges and triumphs of human spaceflight.