Big news hit today: NASA astronauts return Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams are coming home. They’ve been in the International Space Station for over nine months. They will be coming home via a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.
Splashdown is projected for 5: 307 PM ET tonight, or 3: 27 AM IST on March 19 2025. They went into space on June 5 2024 for a short test flight. Boeing’s Starliner failed, making the space mission 287 days.
Now that Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov have brought their astronauts back to the ISS, the long chase is done.
This is huge. Wilmore and Williams planned eight days up there. Starliner’s helium leaks and thruster issues ruined that. NASA ditched it for return in August 2024. SpaceX stepped up.
Crew-9 flew in September 2024 with extra seats. Crew-10 took over Sunday. The switch worked. Weather looks good. The capsule’s set. The ISS astronauts return shows teamwork and guts paying off.
ISS Astronauts Return Tests Endurance
Nine months was a long time to spent so. The crew took a seven-person Expedition 71 that’s seven people on a team. Each drop of water was six months’ worth of food. Williams told CBS News in February that they grew food and clothing.
And they kept the station in operation. They even cast a ballot in the 2024 election. That’s a lot of work.Trouble brewed though. Starliner’s bust left them hanging.
NASA turned to SpaceX. Crew-10’s launch from Kennedy Space Center on March 14 2025 sealed it. The ISS astronauts return owes a lot to that pivot.
Politics buzzed too. Trump pushed Musk for a quick fix. Musk said he offered help earlier. NASA’s Bill Nelson said no record exists. Wilmore laughed Tuesday. “Never heard it,” he said.
ISS Astronauts Return Shapes Space Future
What’s the takeaway? This is a lesson. Nine months tops the usual six-month stint. Frank Rubio’s 371-day U.S. record from 2023 still stands.
Health’s a worry now. Zero gravity hits bones and muscles. Dr. John Lee from Houston’s SpaceMed Clinic told me, “Nine months means weeks of rehab to walk right.”
NASA’s prepped medics and therapy wait after splashdown.
The ISS astronauts return highlights NASA’s setup. Boeing and SpaceX split the load. Boeing’s 4.2 billion dollar Starliner lags years late.
SpaceX’s 2.6 billion dollar Crew Dragon shines nine crew flights since 2020. This mess might jolt Boeing. NASA’s eyeing Starliner’s next shot, maybe 2026. SpaceX holds strong now.
• Experiments return—plants, materials, time-sensitive gear. Pure gold for science.
• Crew sync clicked—two-day handover, no mess.
•X explodes—#Crew9Return trends “Heroes! ” one says, “SpaceX rules! “Another says.
Tonight’s the moment. NASA TV starts at 10:45 PM ET—hatch shuts then. Undocking’s 1:05 AM ET. Seventeen hours later, they hit Pensacola’s Gulf waters. Seas are calm. Trump plans a welcome.
Musk’s watching SpaceX’s win grows. The ISS astronauts return isn’t just a landing. It’s a milestone nine months of pure grit.Check Reuters or NASA.gov for more. This one’s raw and real don’t miss it.
