Down to Earth
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are NASA astronauts. They spent more than nine months in space. They didn’t plan for the trip to be so long. But they’re finally home.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams pose for a photo in space on June 13, 2024.
NASA
On June 5, 2024, Williams and Wilmore blasted off. They flew aboard Boeing’s new Starliner spacecraft. Their trip was supposed to be eight days long. But the craft had problems. It couldn’t carry them home. So they had to stay at the International Space Station (ISS) until March 16, 2025. That’s 278 days longer than expected.
They had plenty to do on the ISS. They ran experiments, for example. “We came up prepared to stay long, even though we [planned] to stay short,” Wilmore said.
Splashing Down
On March 16, a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft arrived at the ISS. It brought the astronauts back to Earth. They flew in a special capsule. It was designed to land in the ocean. “On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home,” radioed mission control, in California.
A support team member steadies the SpaceX capsule on March 18. Those are dolphins nearby.
KEEGAN BARBER—NASA
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