Astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore are back on solid ground
New Delhi/ Cape Canaveral: NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams returned to Earth on Tuesday, marking the conclusion of a space mission that extended far beyond its intended duration. Their journey ended with a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico after a prolonged stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS) due to technical setbacks.
Their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which replaced the originally planned Boeing Starliner, made a safe descent and parachuted into the waters off the Florida Panhandle in the early evening. Just hours after departing the ISS, the two astronauts emerged from the capsule, smiling and waving at the recovery teams before being escorted for medical evaluations.
“What a ride,” said NASA astronaut Nick Hague, who had been aboard the ISS since last fall and greeted Wilmore and Williams as they departed. “I see a capsule full of grins ear to ear.”
Their unexpected extended mission was a result of technical difficulties that arose with Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule. Originally, Wilmore and Williams were scheduled for a short one-week stay on the ISS after launching on June 5. However, multiple issues during Starliner’s test flight prompted NASA to return the spacecraft without crew and make alternative arrangements for their return.
NASA ultimately assigned them a ride back with SpaceX, but further complications delayed their homecoming. The final push for their return came when the next relief crew arrived at the ISS, enabling Wilmore and Williams to leave earlier than expected due to forecasts of worsening weather conditions later in the week.
Their 286-day stay in orbit—far exceeding the planned mission length—saw them orbit Earth 4,576 times and travel a total of 121 million miles (195 million kilometres). Despite the delays, both astronauts remained engaged in critical tasks, contributing to research, station maintenance, and even performing spacewalks.
With 62 hours of extravehicular activity over nine spacewalks, Williams achieved a new milestone, setting the record for the most spacewalking time by a female astronaut. She took on the role of ISS commander three months into the extended mission, a position she held until earlier this month. “On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home,” radioed SpaceX Mission Control in California following their safe return.
Dolphins swam near the capsule as divers prepared it for retrieval onto the recovery ship. Once hoisted aboard, the astronauts exited one by one, with Wilmore giving two thumbs up to signal his relief. Their prolonged stay garnered significant attention, with many jokingly referring to them as being “stuck at work” for months on end. Unlike other long-duration space missions, their return date remained uncertain for an extended period, leading to heightened public interest.
During their stay aboard the ISS, Wilmore and Williams maintained their focus on their mission, despite the unexpected political discourse surrounding their return. In late January, former President Donald Trump called on SpaceX founder Elon Musk to expedite their homecoming, attributing the delays to the Biden administration. NASA, however, maintained that all scheduling decisions were made with astronaut safety as the top priority.
Wilmore, 62, and Williams, 59, both former Navy captains, likened their extended deployment to their military careers, where long absences from home were routine. However, they acknowledged the difficulty of being away from their families for nearly ten months.
Wilmore missed much of his younger daughter’s senior year in high school, while Williams stayed connected with her family through internet calls from space. Her cousin’s husband, Falguni Pandya, shared that the family had remained positive throughout her mission. “We have not been worried about her because she has been in good spirits,” Pandya said. “She was definitely ready to come home.”
Religious communities across the US had also been following their journey, offering prayers for their safe return. Tejal Shah, president of the World Hindu Council of America, noted that 21 Hindu temples held prayer sessions for Williams and Wilmore in the months leading up to their return. Wilmore’s Baptist church in Houston also kept the astronauts in their prayers.
Now back on Earth, the astronauts will undergo medical evaluations to help them readjust to gravity before being reunited with their loved ones. NASA officials stated that they will spend several days in Houston before being allowed to return home.
Their unexpected journey highlighted both the challenges and resilience required for human space exploration, demonstrating the adaptability of astronauts and the complexity of space missions as NASA prepares for future ventures to the Moon and Mars.with agency inputs
