NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore Return To Earth After Nine-Month Space Stay | Watch

Last Updated:March 19, 2025, 03:50 IST

Sunita Williams, along with three other astronauts, splashed down on Earth on Wednesday, nine months after being stuck in Space Station.

Sunita Williams returns to Earth (Photo: X/ NASA)

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore returned to Earth early Wednesday, after being stuck in the Space Station (ISS) for over nine months.

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft undocked from the ISS at 10.35 am IST on Tuesday, ferrying Williams and Wilmore, and covered a 17-hour journey back home and splashed down off the coast of Florida in the US at 3.27 am IST on Wednesday.

The duo bid farewell to the ISS – their home since last spring – alongside two others – NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

Williams and Wilmore had flown to the orbital lab in June 2024, for what was intended to be a brief roundtrip, testing Boeing’s Starliner on its inaugural crewed mission. They were supposed to stay at the ISS for about a week. However, propulsion issues rendered the spacecraft unfit for their return journey, leading to an empty, uncrewed return to Earth.

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News world NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore Return To Earth After Nine-Month Space Stay | Watch