NASA’s ‘stuck’ astronauts have finally left the space station

After a nine-month stay that was only supposed to last eight days, NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have finally left the International Space Station (ISS) and are on their way home.

Seated inside a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft alongside fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, Williams and Wilmore undocked from the orbital outpost at 1:05 a.m. ET on Tuesday, March 18.

The crew are expected to splash down off the coast of Florida at around 5:57 p.m. ET later on Tuesday.

Williams and Wilmore arrived at the ISS in June 2024 on the first crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. But technical problems with the vehicle raised safety concerns, prompting engineers to bring home the capsule without its two astronauts. The decision left Williams and Wilmore, both experienced astronauts, with no choice but to wait for NASA to make alternative arrangements for a ride home.

In an effort to avoid disrupting its usual crew rotation schedule that works on a six-month cycle, NASA held back two of the four astronauts on the Crew-9 flight that headed to the ISS in September last year. The decision meant the Crew Dragon’s two empty seats could be given to Williams and Wilmore on the vehicle’s return flight today.

Ahead of her departure, Williams was asked what she’d miss most about being in orbit. “Everything,” she said, before adding: “This has been [our] third flight to the ISS. We helped put it together, we’ve been up here watching it change. Just living here gives us a unique perspective — not just outside the window, obviously — but on how to solve problems. I don’t want to lose that spark of inspiration and perspective when I leave so I am going to have to bottle it up, somehow.”

Asked what she found most challenging about ending up on a mission that lasted far longer than intended, Williams responded: “It’s been a rollercoaster for [family and supporters], probably more than it has been for us.

“We’re here, we have a mission. We do what we have to do every day. The hardest thing has been not knowing when we’d come back. All of that uncertainty has been the most difficult part.”

Whiel some media reports suggested the pair had been “stranded” in space and were awaiting “rescue,” recently appointed NASA administrator Janet Petro and other NASA officials have maintained that the extended mission was managed in line with contingency planning for human spaceflight, adding that both astronauts were well prepared for a long-duration stay, and spent their time aboard the ISS contributing to scientific research.