On March 18, 2025, NASA astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams returned to Earth after an unexpected nine-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The duo splashed down successfully in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, at 5:57 p.m. ET, aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, aptly named "Freedom." Their return marked the end of a prolonged mission that began as a brief test flight but stretched into a long-duration expedition due to technical issues with their original ride, Boeing’s Starliner capsule. Accompanying them were NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who had joined the ISS crew in September 2024 as part of NASA’s Crew-9 mission. The splashdown concluded a journey that saw the astronauts travel 195 million kilometers and complete 4,576 orbits around Earth.
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The mission began on June 5, 2024, when Wilmore and Williams launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida aboard Boeing’s Starliner for its first crewed flight test. Intended as an eight-day mission to certify the spacecraft for regular ISS crew rotations, the plan unraveled when Starliner encountered helium leaks and thruster malfunctions during its approach to the ISS. After docking on June 6, NASA and Boeing engineers assessed the spacecraft’s condition, ultimately deeming it too risky for a crewed return. In September 2024, Starliner returned to Earth uncrewed, landing safely in New Mexico, while Wilmore and Williams remained on the ISS, transitioning from short-term visitors to full-fledged crew members of Expedition 72. During their extended stay, the astronauts adapted seamlessly to life aboard the orbiting laboratory. They conducted over 150 scientific experiments, contributing to advancements in stem cell technology, plant growth in microgravity, and circadian rhythm maintenance for future deep-space missions. Williams, a veteran astronaut with prior ISS experience, added to her legacy by logging 62 hours across nine spacewalks, securing the record for the most cumulative spacewalking time by a female astronaut. Wilmore, a seasoned Navy test pilot, brought his expertise to maintenance tasks and experiment oversight. Their resilience shone through as they embraced the unexpected extension, with NASA officials praising their adaptability as a model for future long-duration missions, such as those to Mars.
The Crew-9 mission, launched on September 29, 2024, provided the means for their return. Hague and Gorbunov arrived at the ISS with two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams. After a handover with the incoming Crew-10 team, who arrived on March 15, 2025, the four astronauts began their journey home. The Dragon spacecraft was undocked from the ISS at 1:05 a.m. ET on March 18, embarking on a 17-hour descent. As it reentered Earth’s atmosphere, the capsule endured temperatures up to 1,600°C, its heat shield and parachutes slowing it from 17,000 mph to a gentle 15 mph for splashdown. Recovery teams swiftly retrieved the crew, who emerged smiling and healthy, ready for medical evaluations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
This mission underscored the complexities of spaceflight and NASA’s reliance on commercial partners like SpaceX and Boeing. While Starliner’s setbacks delayed the astronauts’ return, the successful splashdown highlighted the robustness of the Commercial Crew Program, ensuring continued access to the ISS as NASA prepares for lunar and Martian exploration. For Wilmore and Williams, the journey was a testament to human endurance and the unpredictable nature of pioneering space travel.