Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have returned home after their over nine-month extended stay at the International Space Station (ISS). NASA's Crew-9 returned in SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft and splashed down off the coast of Florida at 3:27 am (IST). SpaceX CEO Elon Musk congratulated SpaceX and NASA teams for "another safe astronaut return". Musk also thanked his friend and US President Donald Trump for prioritising the mission.
"Congratulations to the @SpaceX and @NASA teams for another safe astronaut return! Thank you to @POTUS for prioritizing this mission!"
"Offered To Return The Astronauts Earlier": Elon Musk
In an interview with Fox News, Musk claimed that SpaceX offered former President Joe Biden's administration to bring back the two astronauts earlier but it was "rejected for political reasons."
"We definitely offered to return the astronauts earlier. There is no question about that. The astronauts were only supposed to be there for eight days and they have been there for almost 10 months. Obvioulsy, that doesn't make any sense. SpaceX could have brought the astronauts after a few months at most and we made that offer to Biden administration. It was rejected for political reasons and that's just a fact," he said.
Earlier in January, Billionaire Elon Musk said that President Trump has asked him to facilitate the return of the two Boeing Starliner astronauts, who have been on the space station since June 2024, as soon as possible.
The SpaceX CEO said it was "terrible" that the Biden administration "left them there so long".
"The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so," Musk said in a post on X.
President Trump also confirmed the talk in a post on his social media platform, TruthSocial. He said he has asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to "go get" the two brave astronauts "who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration." He said that the mission will take place "soon".
Sunita Williams' Journey From Earth To Space And Back
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore flew aboard NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test to space on June 5 last year. The two astronauts went on an eight-day mission to the ISS but, on June 6, as Starliner approached the space station, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters. The Starliner was sent back to Earth without the crew.
Later, in August, it was decided to reassign the two astronauts to SpaceX's Crew-9 mission. This meant, downsizing the Crew-9 from four to two and dropping NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, previously announced as crewmates, to make space for Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov flew to the space station as commander and mission specialist, respectively, as part of a two-crew member flight aboard a SpaceX Dragon.
Today, after over nine months, the Crew-9 team returned to earth.
After a 17-hour-long journey, the spacecraft deployed its parachute before a splashdown in the ocean off the coast of Florida.
A NASA team opened the hatch and helped astronauts onto mobility aids.
Ms Williams was seen waving and flashing thumbs-up signs as she came out of the capsule.
When asked by an X (formerly Twitter) user if the astronauts will get a special meal now, NASA said that Crew-9 will go for a thorough medical check first and fresh food will be served soon.
"A meal on the ship is not normally very extravagant. They are still adjusting to gravity, too. Fresh food coming soon!"
