Two NASA's stuck astronauts returned to Earth with SpaceX on Tuesday to end a dramatic marathon mission that began with a Boeing test flight nine months ago.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams bid farewell to the International Space Station (their home since last spring) left the SpaceX capsule with two other astronauts. The capsule was cancelled shortly after 1 a.m. east and was intended to splash off the Florida coast around 6 p.m. east, weather permitting.
The two are expected to launch on Boeing's new Starliner crew capsule for about a week. So, many problems arose on the way to the space station, and NASA eventually sent Starliner back to the air and transferred the test pilots to SpaceX, pushing their homecoming to February. Then, SpaceX capsule issues added another month of delay.
The arrival of Sunday's relief workers means Wilmore and Williams can eventually leave. NASA has relaxed them a little bit given the weather forecast later this week. They checked out with Nick Hague of NASA and Alexander Gorbunov of Russia, who arrived at their own SpaceX capsules last fall and reserved two empty seats for the Starliner Duo.
“We will miss you, but the journey home is great,” NASA’s Anne McClain shouted from the space station as the capsules pull away 260 miles (418 kilometers) above the Pacific Ocean.
Their dilemma attracted the attention of the world and gave new meanings to the phrase “stay working”. While other astronauts have recorded longer space flights over decades, no one has to deal with so much uncertainty or see the length of their mission expand a lot.
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Wilmore and Williams quickly transition from guests to mature station staff, perform experiments, repair equipment and even spacewalks. Williams set a record with 62 hours in nine spacewalks: spending the most time in the career of a female astronaut.
Both had lived in the track lab before and knew about the ropes and brushed in station training before swinging. Williams became the commander of the station after three months of stay and held the position until earlier this month.
Their mission took an unexpected turn in late January, when Donald Trump asked SpaceX founder Elon Musk to speed up the return of astronauts and blamed the Biden administration for the delay. The replacement's brand new SpaceX capsule is still not ready to fly, so SpaceX covers it with used tape and hurry up for at least a few weeks.
Even in the middle of the political storm, Wilmore and Williams continued to keep even keels in their public appearances on the track without blaming and insisting that they supported NASA's decision from the outset.
NASA hired SpaceX and Boeing after the shuttle program ended to have two competing U.S. companies to transport astronauts to the space station until it was abandoned in 2030 and turned to a fiery re-entry. By then, it will be there for thirty years. The program is to replace it with a privately operated station so that NASA can focus on moon and Mars adventures.
Retired Navy Captains, Wilmore and Williams all stressed that they didn't mind spending more time in space – the long deployment was reminiscent of their military era. But they admit it's hard for their families.
Wilmore, 62, missed most of his youngest daughter’s high school time. His eldest daughter is in college. Williams, 59, had to settle in the internet phone from space to his mother. They will have to wait until they leave the SpaceX Recovery ship and fly to Houston before they get together with their loved ones.
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
