NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have returned to Earth after a nine-month mission on the International Space Station (ISS), landing in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on Tuesday following prolonged delays due to technical failures on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
The pair, who launched in June aboard Starliner for what was meant to be an eight-day test mission, became stranded on the ISS after propulsion issues grounded their return. NASA ultimately decided they would return as part of the agency’s routine crew rotation schedule, using SpaceX’s capsule instead of the troubled Boeing craft.
On Tuesday morning, Wilmore and Williams undocked from the ISS at 1:05 a.m. ET (0505 GMT) alongside two other astronauts. Their spacecraft, part of NASA’s Crew-9 mission, re-entered Earth's atmosphere around 5:45 p.m. ET before safely splashing down off Florida’s Gulf Coast ten minutes later.
"What a ride," Crew-9 commander Nick Hague said upon landing. "I see a capsule full of grins, ear to ear."
NASA’s recovery team hoisted the spacecraft out of the water and transported the astronauts to shore, where they will undergo medical evaluations at Johnson Space Center in Houston before reuniting with their families.
The extended mission caught the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who called for an earlier return and accused the previous administration of "abandoning" the astronauts in space—claims made without evidence. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, a close ally of Trump, echoed the call for their return.
Boeing’s Starliner, originally designed to compete with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, now faces an uncertain future after the spacecraft’s technical issues forced NASA to rely solely on SpaceX for human spaceflight missions.
During their 286 days in orbit—far longer than the average six-month ISS mission—Wilmore and Williams conducted scientific research, station maintenance, and spacewalks. Williams, marking her third spaceflight, has now spent 608 days in space, the second most for any U.S. astronaut after Peggy Whitson’s 675 days.
NASA delayed their return to Earth until their replacements from Crew-10 arrived last Friday to maintain station staffing levels.
Williams, speaking before departure, said she was eager to return home. "It's been a roller coaster for [my family], probably more so than for us," she said, looking forward to reuniting with her two dogs.
The U.S. will impose unprecedented measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said...
A former Syrian security officer convicted in Austria of abusing detainees under Bashar al-Assad has returned to Syria while appealing his eight-ye...
Uzbekistan has eased parts of its extremism legislation following criticism from UN rights experts, while retaining broad state powers over materia...
Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab, raising fears that instability in both waterways could trigger a wider global energy and trade crisis.
Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
Russia has accused Ukraine of threatening global grain supplies after recent strikes on Black Sea agricultural infrastructure, while Moscow carried out a new overnight attack on Ukraine’s major Danube port of Izmail.
At least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured in Ukraine in July, according to UN investigators, marking the highest monthly civilian casualty toll since March 2022.
Record rainfall in Japan killed eight people and stranded thousands of travellers at Tokyo's Narita Airport on Friday, as flooding disrupted transport and cut power to 20,000 homes.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 14th of August, covering the latest developments.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or rerouted at Catania Airport over the past week as ash from Mount Etna’s ongoing eruption continues to disrupt air travel in Sicily.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Ebola outbreak has spread to a sixth province. A man died of the virus in Bas-Uélé in the north, the African Union’s health agency said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment