NASA’s stranded astronauts are finally on their way home after a brutal nine months in space.
After months of tense anticipation, Sunita Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 1.05am ET (5.05am GMT) on the Dragon spacecraft made by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The pair, along with NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Aleksandr Gorbunov, will now make the 17 hour descent back to Earth and, if all goes according to plan, should splash down off the coast of Florida at 5.57pm ET (9.57pm GMT).
‘Crew nine is going home,’ Hague, the commander of departing Crew Dragon, said from the spacecraft moments after they began their journey.
‘On behalf of crew nine, it was a privilege to call space home… to live and work… in cooperation for the benefit of humanity. To our colleagues and dear friends who remain on the station, we know the station is in great hands. We’re excited to see what you guys are going to accomplish and we’ll be waiting for ya [sic].’
NASA livestreamed the extraordinary mission, documenting every key development from the moment the duo were secured in the spacecraft and the hatch door was closed – which took place two hours prior to departure.
Wilmore was strapped in on the far left of the hatch with Williams secured on the far right, both blowing kisses at the screen as the reality set in that they were finally returning home.
There was a slight mishap as Takuya Onishi, one of four new astronauts replacing Williams and Wilmore, reported finding specks of dust on the hatch seals between the craft and the space station before takeoff.
Wilmore was strapped in on the far left of the hatch with Williams secured on the far right
They were both blowing kisses at the screen as the reality set in that they were finally returning home
Pictured: SpaceX Dragon capsule ‘Freedom’ docked at the International Space Station ahead of take off
Williams and Wilmore are returning to Earth in SpaceX ‘s Crew-9 Dragon capsule, which was already docked to the ISS. The pair will be accompanied by NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia ‘s Aleksandr Gorbunov, who flew to the space station in the Crew-9 Dragon in September
Those specks needed to be entirely removed – which Onishi did – before takeoff to ensure the seal remained air tight.
Beyond that, all systems were reported working smoothly and the space suits had passed the required leak test, with forecast clear skies and ‘pristine weather’ ahead of splashdown on Tuesday.
The duo are unlikely to be able to walk on their own and will almost certainly be stretchered to the hospital, making for dramatic scenes.
Williams and Wilmore were only supposed to spend eight days on the floating laboratory when they launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5.
But numerous technical issues with their ship, including thruster failures and helium leaks, drove NASA to send Starliner home without its crew in September.
Their unexpectedly long space mission became a political flashpoint following comments from President Donald Trump and Musk, who both said the Biden administration ‘abandoned’ the Starliner crew in space for ‘political reasons.’
During a February appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Musk claimed he offered to bring the pair home eight months ago, but the Biden Administration shot it down because it would have made Trump ‘look good’ in the presidential race against Kamala Harris.
Williams and Wilmore are en route back to Earth in SpaceX’s Crew-9 Dragon capsule, which docked to the ISS late last week.
NASA livestreamed the extraordinary mission, documenting the moment the Dragon unhooked and began its return to Earth
‘Crew nine is going home,’ commander Hague said from the aircraft moments after they began their journey
Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams were original scheduled for an eight-day mission, but were forced to stay after technical issues plagued the Boeing’s Starliner that brought them to the ISS
The pair are joined by NASA’s Hague and Russia’s Gorbunov, who flew to the space station in the Crew-9 Dragon in September.
Four new astronauts have taken their place after arriving on the ISS over the weekend. The incoming Crew-10 is composed of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan‘s Takuya Onishi, and Russia‘s Kirill Pesko.
Typically, a departing ISS crew shares the space station with the incoming crew for about five days in what’s known as a ‘handover period.’
This allows them to get the new crew up to speed on space station operations and ensures a smooth transition between teams.
But this time, NASA decided to shorten the handover period to just two days to conserve food on the ISS and open up more undocking opportunities for the Starliner crew in case the weather interferes with their targeted return date.
When they splash down on Tuesday, the frail duo will be placed on stretchers and immediately taken for medical evaluations.
NASA is due to give a press conference at 7.30pm ET (11.30pm GMT) and it is highly unlikely the astronauts will attend.
The duo were in high spirits as they prepared to farewell the space station
Dr Vinay Gupta, a pulmonologist and Air Force veteran told DailyMail.com the crew will begin their rehabilitation program the very same day they return to Earth, with the first phase focusing on walking, flexibility and muscle strengthening.
The astronauts could need up to six weeks of rehabilitation to regain their strength, which will include guided exercise and a nutritional plan, he added.
The duo have been praised for their work under less-than-ideal conditions in the space station.
They completed 4,500 orbits while stranded for 286 days.
Rob Navias, from the NASA communications department, said: ‘For the statistical freaks out there, we can tell you that Williams and Wilmore… they will come home with 286 days in space… just to put it into context, not the longest in space history.’
‘It’s not a record-breaking mission.’
NASA had moved up the return mission by two weeks after after President Trump told Musk to ‘go get’ Williams and Wilmore, saying Biden had ‘abandoned’ them in space.
There was a slight mishap as Takuya Onishi, one of four new astronauts replacing Williams and Wilmore, reported finding specks of dust on the hatch seals between the craft and the space station
Pictured: The moment the SpaceX Dragon capsule undocked from the station with the astronauts on board
Before the president’s request, the astronauts were not coming back earlier than March 26.
Musk claimed the Biden Administration shot down his earlier offer to collect the astronauts due to his links to Trump.
The billionaire SpaceX founder backed Trump during the 2024 presidential race, donating $288 million to his campaign and appearing at several MAGA rallies
NASA officials have not directly addressed these claims, but during a press briefing earlier this month, one of its senior administrators shed light on the situation.
Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of the agency’s Space Operation Mission Directorate, said SpaceX has been working with NASA to develop a backup return plan for the Starliner mission since last July.
‘The SpaceX folks helped us with a lot of options for how we would bring Butch and Suni home on Dragon in a contingency,’ Bowersox said.
He also admitted that there ‘may have been conversations’ in the White House about delaying the return for political reasons, but he was not part of the discussions.
The mission was only meant to take eight days, but the Boeing Starliner capsule which delivered them to the ISS encountered so many problems that NASA insisted it come back empty, leaving its test pilots behind to wait for a SpaceX lift.
The incoming Crew-10 is composed of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan ‘s Takuya Onishi, and Russia ‘s Kirill Pesko
The new crew from the SpaceX capsule will spend the next six months at the space station, which is considered the normal stint.
Their arrival comes after several setbacks for the relief mission, the most recent of which saw the flight scrapped at the eleventh hour on Wednesday, due to a hydraulic system issue with the Falcon 9 rocket.
The Dragon capsule docked at the ISS just after 12:04am ET after a more than 28 hour journey.
