Due to a malfunction with a Boeing spacecraft, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore found themselves stranded on the ISS.
After spending nine months stranded in space, two NASA astronauts have successfully returned to Earth.
Early Tuesday morning, Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore departed from the International Space Station, and after a 17-hour journey, they splashed down off the coast of Florida. Their original return vehicle, Boeing’s Starliner, was deemed unsafe for the journey home, which resulted in an extended stay in space.
Here’s what you need to know about their extra time in space and their return home.
Which Two Astronauts Got Stranded in Space?
Stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) are two experienced NASA astronauts: 59-year-old Sunita “Suni” Williams and 62-year-old Barry “Butch” Wilmore.
Williams, the current commander of the International Space Station and a former U.S.
Navy officer, joined NASA in 1998. She has logged 322 days in space and performed nine spacewalks throughout her career. She once held the record for the most spacewalks by a female astronaut until Peggy Whitson surpassed her with 10 in 2017.
Wilmore embarked on his first space mission in 2009 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Before flying on the Boeing Starliner, he had spent 178 days in space. He has served as both a flight engineer and a commander on previous ISS missions, researching plant growth in space, the effects of microgravity on the human body, and environmental changes on Earth.
In the Boeing mission, Wilmore acted as the commander while Williams piloted the spacecraft.
When Did They Return to Earth, and by What Means Did They Do So?
The process for Williams and Wilmore’s return began late Monday night, with hatch closure preparations starting at 10:45 pm ET (02:45 GMT).
On Tuesday at 1:05 am ET (05:05 GMT), the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying Wilmore and Williams undocked from the ISS, then splashed down into the Atlantic Ocean just before 6:00 pm ET (22:00 GMT).
NASA broadcast live coverage of the astronauts’ departure and return journey.
Docked at the station in September 2024, the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule originally carried NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian astronaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the ISS, leaving two empty seats for Wilmore and Williams’s return
The four couldn’t return on that same capsule until a new crew of four arrived to take their place.
Crew-10, which arrived at the ISS on Sunday at 12:04 am ET (04:04 GMT), is composed of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian astronaut Kirill Peskov. They launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday.
Why Were They Stuck?
Williams and Wilmore were stranded because the spacecraft meant to bring them home had technical problems.
They traveled to the ISS aboard Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner during its first crewed test flight. This mission, part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, was designed to develop private spacecraft that can ferry astronauts to and from the station. By outsourcing low-Earth orbit missions, NASA aims to focus on deeper space exploration, including the Artemis missions to the Moon and future human trips to Mars.
During its 25-hour journey to the ISS, Starliner experienced helium leaks and a malfunction in a thruster responsible for steering and controlling reentry. When it arrived on June 6, four more of its 28 thrusters failed, delaying the docking with the station.
Even though engineers managed to restore four of the five failed thrusters, NASA judged the spacecraft too unsafe for human travel and returned it empty, leaving Williams and Wilmore stranded on the ISS.
In August 2024, NASA opted to return them using a SpaceX vehicle. Crew Dragon-9, which launched on September 29, 2024, has been docked at the ISS ever since. Returning them sooner would have left only one US astronaut on board, limiting research and emergency response capabilities
Once their replacement crew arrived on Crew-10, Williams and Wilmore were finally able to return home.
How Long Did the Two Astronauts Remain Stranded in Space?
Williams and Wilmore had been in space since June 5, 2024, meaning that by the time they returned, they had spent over nine months orbiting Earth.
After launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in June, they were originally slated to remain in space for just eight days.
Typically, astronauts on the ISS serve rotations lasting about six months.
How Did They Manage to Live In Space for So Long?
Even though their stay was unexpectedly extended, Williams and Wilmore stayed healthy and even completed a spacewalk together in January.
Life aboard the ISS follows a set schedule of exercise, work, and leisure. This includes regular workouts on a treadmill and resistance machine to keep their bones and muscles strong.
Over the year, several space agencies and private companies planned missions to deliver food, water, and oxygen to the space station.
During Christmas, the two astronauts enjoyed a festive dinner featuring smoked oysters, crab, duck foie gras, cranberry sauce, Atlantic lobster, and smoked salmon, according to The Times in London.
Williams and Wilmore stayed in touch with their families via email and phone.
During a November interview with Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News, Williams mentioned that she and Wilmore were “feeling good, working out, eating right.”
She added, “We’re having plenty of fun up here too. Anyone worried about us doesn’t need to be—our crew is very happy.”
Have Any Astronauts Ever Been Stuck in Space Before?
Williams and Wilmore aren’t the first astronauts to have to extend their stay in space unexpectedly. In the past, technical problems or geopolitical events have forced astronauts to remain in orbit longer than planned.
Frank Rubio holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut, spending 371 days on the ISS from 2022 to 2023. His mission was extended due to problems with the Soyuz spacecraft that took him to orbit, and he eventually returned to a different Soyuz capsule.
In 1991, Soviet astronaut Sergei Krikalev became stranded aboard the now-decommissioned Mir space station for 311 days because of the Soviet Union’s collapse.
Political turmoil and budget cuts delayed his return, forcing him to stay in orbit much longer than planned. When he eventually arrived in March 1992, he did not return to the Soviet Union, but to a freshly independent Russia.
