(VitalNews.org) – Two American astronauts are finally heading home after being stranded in space for nine months due to Boeing’s failed spacecraft.
Watch the videos down below.
NASA veterans Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore undocked from the International Space Station today in a SpaceX Dragon capsule.
The astronauts began their 17-hour journey back to Earth early this morning following what was originally planned as a brief eight-day mission.
Their Boeing Starliner spacecraft suffered multiple failures during its test flight in June 2024, forcing NASA to abandon the capsule and arrange an alternate ride home with SpaceX.
President Donald Trump had urged SpaceX to expedite the astronauts’ return, applying necessary pressure to resolve a situation that had left American heroes drifting in space far longer than intended.
NASA astronauts Williams, Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will be on the return mission, designated Crew-9.
The splashdown is scheduled for approximately 5:57 p.m. off the Florida coast.
Boeing’s Starliner capsule experienced serious technical deficiencies, including thruster failures and helium leaks that made it unsafe for human return.
Despite receiving billions in funding, Boeing’s spacecraft is now unlikely to fly again before 2025, if ever.
During their extended stay, Williams set a record for the most time spent spacewalking by a female astronaut, logging 62 hours over nine spacewalks.
The astronauts missed significant family events during their unplanned extension, including Williams’ husband’s retirement and Wilmore’s daughter’s college graduation.
“I’d like to say it was a privilege to call space home. To live and work and be a part of a mission and a team that spans the globe in cooperation for the benefit of humanity,” Crew-9 commander Nick Hague said.
NASA contracted SpaceX and Boeing to transport astronauts to the ISS after the shuttle program ended in 2011. By 2030, NASA plans to replace the ISS with privately run stations.
While SpaceX has successfully completed numerous crew rotations, Boeing has yet to achieve a single operational mission despite receiving comparable funding.
The situation sparked controversy when the media portrayed the astronauts as “stranded” or “abandoned,” prompting pushback from Wilmore himself, who requested a change in narrative.
Nevertheless, the facts remain clear: American astronauts were forced to spend an extra nine months in space due to Boeing’s engineering failures, and they are coming home thanks to SpaceX.
NASA will livestream the splashdown on its streaming service, NASA+, providing real-time coverage of the astronauts’ long-awaited return to American soil.
🚨🇺🇸NASA’S STRANDED ASTRONAUTS FINALLY HEADING HOME AFTER 9 MONTHS—SPACEX DRAGON TO SPLASH DOWN TODAY
After 9 grueling months stranded on the ISS, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have undocked aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon.
They were only meant to stay 8 days but… https://t.co/k1Qmf0kcDN pic.twitter.com/NuertyaKwW
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 18, 2025
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