(Image source from: x.com/nasahqphoto)
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, together with astronaut Butch Wilmore, has made their way back to Earth after an extended stay of over nine months at the International Space Station (ISS). They successfully landed after a mission that garnered international interest, with their spacecraft, SpaceX’s Dragon, splashing down off the coast of Florida. The pair departed from the ISS earlier in the morning, exchanging heartfelt farewells and embraces with the crew members who remained behind. Their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, named Freedom, was preparing for its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, where the heat shield needed to withstand intense temperatures reaching about 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 degrees Celsius) before the parachutes could deploy. They were set to splash down near Tallahassee, Florida, at 5:57 PM ET on Tuesday (3:27 AM IST on Wednesday).
Splashdown of Dragon confirmed – welcome back to Earth, Nick, Suni, Butch, and Aleks! pic.twitter.com/M4RZ6UYsQ2
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 18, 2025
During their time on the ISS, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore completed a remarkable 286 days, accomplishing more than 4,500 orbits and covering over 121 million statute miles. Upon their return, the crew will partake in NASA's 45-day rehabilitation program aimed at assisting astronauts in adjusting after the physical impacts of space travel. Initially, their return was planned for Wednesday evening; however, NASA opted to delay this due to anticipated adverse weather conditions later that week. Bill and Sunita arrived at the ISS in June of the previous year for a mission initially slated to last eight days but extended due to complications with the Boeing Starliner capsule's propulsion system. They were the inaugural crew to experience a test flight of Boeing's Starliner, while the problematic capsule managed to return to Earth the previous September. Former President Donald Trump and his advisor Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, have attempted to assign blame, without evidence, to former President Joe Biden regarding the astronauts’ situation.
