Watch: Moment When Sunita Williams Splashed Down To Earth After Nine-Month Space Stay

Last Updated:March 19, 2025, 07:36 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.

Both of the astronauts set their foot back on Earth as they were recovered from the Dragon on the recovery vessel.

The White House welcomed the astronauts and said, “PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT: President Trump pledged to rescue the astronauts stranded in space for nine months."

Wilmore and Williams returned to Earth after spending 286 days in space — 278 days longer than planned —due to delays with Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule.

Originally set for a week-long mission after launching on June 5, their return was repeatedly postponed due to technical issues with Starliner and later SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. By the time they splashed down, they had completed 4,576 orbits of Earth and traveled 121 million miles (195 million kilometers).

Their return was expedited after SpaceX opted to use a previously flown Crew Dragon capsule instead of waiting for a new one.

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