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From the Associated Press: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Stuck in space no more, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams returned to Earth on Tuesday, hitching a different ride home to close out a saga that began with a bungled test flight more than nine months ago.
Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico in the early evening, just hours after departing the International Space Station. Splashdown occurred off the coast of Tallahassee in the Florida Panhandle, bringing their unplanned odyssey to an end.
The two expected to be gone just a week or so after launching on Boeing’s new Starliner crew capsule on June 5. So many problems cropped up on the way to the space station that NASA eventually sent Starliner back empty and transferred the test pilots to SpaceX, pushing their homecoming into February. Then SpaceX capsule issues added another month’s delay.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX sent the Dragon capsule up to the International Space Station Sunday night, taking four new astronauts up to work at the station.
The capsule then departed at 1:05 a.m. ET Tuesday, carrying Wilmore, Williams, and two other astronauts – NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Alexander Gorbunov – back to earth. The astronauts dubbed the capsule “Dragon Freedom” for the return trip.
The report notes that Wilmore and Williams are both retired Navy captains. Wilmore, 62, is an elder at a Baptist church in Houston. Williams, 59, is Hindu.
The capsule splashed down at approximately 5:57 pm ET, off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida.
Below is the dramatic moment the parachutes opened up to slow down the capsule as it neared the earth:
Drogue and main parachutes have deployed pic.twitter.com/X0wiXqFaPt
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 18, 2025
SPASHDOWN!
Splashdown of Dragon confirmed – welcome back to Earth, Nick, Suni, Butch, and Aleks! pic.twitter.com/M4RZ6UYsQ2
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 18, 2025
Welcome home, #Crew9 @NASA_Astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov splashed down off the coast of Florida concluding their scientific mission to the @Space_Station More photos: https://t.co/bgj7qk6MDw pic.twitter.com/bZHaCQhdNn
— NASA HQ PHOTO (@nasahqphoto) March 18, 2025
Recovery crews went out in boats to retrieve the capsule and pulled it back to the main recovery boat, where it was lifted out of the water and onto the boat.
The astronauts will then be taken out of the capsule, one by one.
When the hatch door was opened, the astronauts all waved while still strapped in their seats as they waited to be removed.
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
WATCH LIVE COVERAGE BELOW AS THE ASTRONAUTS ARE REMOVED:
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