Subhechcha Ganguly 
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have safely returned to Earth after spending over nine months at the International Space Station (ISS) due to unexpected delays. Their journey, initially planned as an eight-day mission, was prolonged after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft developed propulsion issues.
The duo returned aboard SpaceX’s Dragon Freedom capsule, which successfully splashed down off the Florida coast near Tallahassee at 5:57 PM ET on Tuesday (3:27 AM IST, Wednesday). They were joined by astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Grebyonkin, who had reached the ISS in December as part of a NASA-SpaceX rescue mission.
“On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home,” SpaceX Mission Control in California radioed as the capsule landed. After their 17-hour journey, the astronauts emerged from their charred capsule, smiling and waving before being taken for routine medical checks.
The White House credited former President Donald Trump for the rescue mission, stating on X: “PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT: President Trump pledged to rescue the astronauts stranded in space for nine months. Today, they safely splashed down, thanks to @ElonMusk, @SpaceX, and @NASA!”
Williams and Wilmore were the first crew to test Boeing’s Starliner, which returned to Earth last September.
