OAN Staff Abril Elfi
4:33 PM – Tuesday, March 18, 2025
After spending 286 days stranded in space, two NASA astronauts who have been documented throughout the journey safely returned to Earth on Tuesday — where their families joyfully celebrated their long-awaited homecoming.
In addition to the two American astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and the American commander of the Crew-9 mission were aboard as well.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, carrying Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, as well as two others, splashed down off the Gulf Coast of Florida near Tallahassee — just before 6 p.m. ET.
Boats were already waiting at the scene to inspect the capsule and retrieve its parachutes.
The recovery team typically checks for any signs of toxic propellant from the thrusters, as it can make astronauts and other crew members become ill. A recovery team climbed onto the capsule to prepare it for lifting onto the recovery ship.
After approximately half an hour, a recovery ship named “Megan,” which pulls the capsule out of the water, finally reached them. The capsule was then pulled out of the water and placed on the recovery ship. The team then reportedly cleaned the outside of Megan and opened the side hatch to get the crew down.
Nick Hague, the commander of the Crew-9 mission, was let off first — sliding down and being placed on a stretcher.
Next up was Russian cosmonaut and aerospace engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov, who spent 170 days in space. Hague and Gorbunov were launched to the ISS onboard the Dragon Freedom spacecraft in September 2024.
Williams was next off, followed by Wilmore, returning to Earth after being in space for 286 days. They originally arrived at the space station aboard the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.
Following their initial medical examinations, the astronauts will be brought to shore by helicopter from the recovery ship, and then to the Johnson Space Center in Houston for additional medical testing.
While astronauts may be reunited with loved ones as soon as they arrive at the center, NASA said it is common for them to spend a few days at the facility’s astronaut quarters — before flight surgeons clear them to return home.
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