American astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, who have been on the International Space Station (ISS) since June 6, 2024, landed off the coast of Florida in the US, NASA announced on Tuesday. Their flight in the Crew Dragon capsule lasted more than 17 hours.
According to NASA, the capsule carrying Williams, Wilmore, American Nick Hague and Russian Aleksandr Gorbunov separated from the ISS on Tuesday morning Polish time.
Last June, Williams and Wilmore flew into space on Boeing’s first Starliner mission. They were supposed to stay there for eight days, but propulsion problems, including a helium leak and engine failures, caused a series of delays in their return to Earth. The spacecraft’s launch alone was canceled twice.
NASA reported that during their time on the ISS, the pair integrated fairly quickly with the other astronauts, taking on day-to-day tasks on board, including conducting science experiments. Their duties also included maintaining the orbiting laboratory.
The Straliner spacecraft without a crew on board returned to Earth in its entirety on September 8, 2024.
Ultimately, NASA decided that as part of a planned crew replacement on the ISS, Williams and Wilmore would return to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.
After returning, the astronauts will remain for several days at the NASA center, where they will undergo medical examinations, and only then will they be allowed to return home. Reuters emphasized that a long stay in space can entail various negative consequences, such as muscle atrophy or vision impairment.
We're getting our first look at #Crew9 since their return to Earth! Recovery teams will now help the crew out of Dragon, a standard process for all crew members after returning from long-duration missions. pic.twitter.com/yD2KVUHSuq
— NASA (@NASA) March 18, 2025
Williams and Wilmore have spent 286 days in space, more than the average length of an ISS mission, which is six months. The longest-serving American astronaut in space at one time is Frank Rubio, who spent 371 continuous days in space. His mission ended in 2023 after a cooling system failure on a Russian spacecraft.
In terms of the total number of days spent in space, the Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has the most of them – over 878.
Williams, 59, and Wilmore, 62, are experienced astronauts. They spent a total of 500 days in space before the Starliner test flight. It is worth adding that Suni is a seasoned athlete – in 2012, she became the first person in the world to complete a triathlon in space. At that time, Williams used a stationary bike at the station, simulated swimming on a weightlifting machine and ran on a treadmill, strapped in with a harness so as not to float. (PAP)
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