NASA astronauts 'stranded' in space for months begin journey back to Earth in SpaceX Dragon capsule
18 March 2025, 05:46 | Updated: 18 March 2025, 07:27
Two astronauts stuck in space for nearly nine months are finally on their way back to Earth.
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Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at the International Space Station on June 5, and were only supposed to be in orbit for eight days.
Instead, following a slew of setbacks, a simple test of Boeing's Starliner, turned into a months-long mission to rescue them.
The starliner that carried Butch and Suni to the ISS was returned to Earth for repairs, leaving the two astronauts stranded in space.
But early on Tuesday morning, a SpaceX crew capsule arrived at the International Space Station, delivering the replacements for the two stuck astronauts and allowing them to begin their journey home.
Wilmore swung open the space station's hatch and then rang the ship's bell as the new arrivals floated in one by one on Sunday and were greeted with hugs and handshakes.
"It was a wonderful day," Ms Williams told mission control. "Great to see our friends arrive."
Butch and Suni returning vessel undocked from the orbiting outpost at 1.05am ET (5.05am GMT) on Tuesday and began its 17-hour descent to Earth, with arrival expected at around 6pm ET tonight.
The Boeing Starliner capsule encountered so many problems that NASA insisted it returned to Earth empty, leaving its test pilots behind to wait for a SpaceX lift.
Their ride arrived in late September with a downsized crew of two and two empty seats reserved for the leg back. But more delays resulted when their replacements' new capsule needed extensive battery repairs.
An older capsule took its place, pushing up their return by a couple of weeks to mid-March.
The rescue of both astronauts became embroiled in what can only be described as political football, with Donald Trump pledging his hard-right billionaire ally Elon Musk could rescue them at any moment, while Joe Biden accused Musk of "abandoning" them.
Speaking in February, Butch told CNN: “We don’t feel abandoned, we don’t feel stuck, we don’t feel stranded. I understand why others may think that … if you’ll help us change the rhetoric, help us change the narrative, let’s change it to ‘prepared and committed’, that’s what we prefer.”
