Indian-American NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore have finally departed the International Space Station (ISS) after being stuck for more than nine months because of technical problems.
The astronauts in a video released by NASA took part in a final photo session prior to boarding SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which will return them to Earth.
LIVE: @NASA_Astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are packing up and closing the hatches as #Crew9 prepares to depart from the @Space_Station. Crew-9 is scheduled to return to Earth on Tuesday, March 18. https://t.co/TpRlvLBVU1
— NASA (@NASA) March 18, 2025
Williams, 62, and Wilmore, 59, undocked from the ISS at 10:35 AM IST to start their 17-hour ride back home. Their spacecraft will splash down off the coast of Florida at 3:27 AM IST on Wednesday.
Originally a Short Mission, Extended Due to Starliner Issues
Williams and Wilmore had first flown to the ISS on June 5 last year on Boeing’s Starliner, which was on its maiden crewed test flight. The flight was to be a short-duration round trip. But after the failures in the propulsion systems, the spacecraft was not safe for their return and was returned without crew.
NASA subsequently assigned the stranded astronauts to SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, which flew in September with just two astronauts rather than the typical four, to provide room for Williams and Wilmore.
On Sunday, Crew-10 arrived at the ISS, clearing the way for their highly anticipated return together with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
Longest Stay for Sunita Williams, But Not a Record
Although their visit lasted longer than the typical six-month ISS rotation, it is sixth in the list of the longest US spaceflights.
The longest stay on a single mission by a NASA astronaut is held by Frank Rubio, who remained in space for 371 days in 2023. The world record is still with Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who logged 437 consecutive days on the Mir space station.
Political Controversy Over Williams’ Extended Stay
On Earth, Williams and Wilmore’s extended sojourn in space ignited political tensions.
Donald Trump, who was back in office in January, blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for not doing something sooner. “They shamefully forgot about the astronauts because they thought it was a very embarrassing incident for them,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday.
Trump and his fellow close ally Elon Musk have persistently argued that the Biden government overlooked a previous rescue mission plan for the astronauts.
Notwithstanding the drama, NASA successfully managed to bring them back home, bringing to an end an unprecedentedly long space mission for Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore.
