March 19, 2025, 06:00 AM PDT – NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for nearly nine months, returned to Earth on March 18, 2025, in a SpaceX Dragon capsule, as reported by news outlets. Their splashdown ended a mission extended by Boeing Starliner problems.
Wilmore and Williams launched to the ISS in June 2024 on Boeing’s Starliner for a short test, but technical issues like gas leaks and engine trouble left them stuck, per The Guardian. NASA turned to SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission in August 2024 to rescue them, as noted by NASA. On March 18, they left the ISS at 1:05 a.m. EDT with Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, landing in the Gulf of Mexico around 5:57 p.m. EDT, according to Space.com.
The astronauts spent 286 days on the ISS, far longer than their planned week, doing science tasks and spacewalks, as reported by NASA. Hague and Gorbunov joined for the trip back, part of Crew-9, which launched to bring the stranded pair home, per Reuters. The return was broadcast live on NASA+ and SpaceX streams, offering relief to families and officials.
This mission pointed to challenges with Boeing’s Starliner, which couldn’t safely return Wilmore and Williams, as noted by NBC News. It also showed SpaceX’s important role in space travel, with its Dragon spacecraft delivering a safe return. The long stay tested the astronauts’ strength, and their homecoming ended months of concern.
What’s ahead? This could push NASA to fix Starliner’s issues. I’ll watch for news to see how it shapes future space trips and ties with SpaceX and Boeing.
