NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have returned to Earth nearly 9 months later than planned, landing in a different spacecraft than the one they launched in last June.
Along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, they landed off Florida’s Gulf Coast in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, where NASA and SpaceX teams were waiting to greet them.
Wilmore and Williams each added a fourth spacecraft to their experience, as their journey home involved two private company spacecraft. They initially arrived in June on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft during its first crewed test flight to the International Space Station. However, after several issues with the Starliner, NASA decided to undock it and return it to Earth without the crew.
The mission, originally set to last a week, was extended by nearly 10 months due to the logistical challenges of bringing Wilmore and Williams back on a different vehicle.
SpaceX and Boeing provided custom-fitted suits and seats, which had to be sent to the ISS for use on the Dragon spacecraft’s return. At 1 a.m. on Tuesday, the Crew-9 SpaceX Dragon undocked from the ISS and, after less than a day of spaceflight, re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, landing in the Gulf of Mexico.
Despite spending 286 days in space, Williams and Wilmore don’t hold the record for the most days in orbit; NASA astronaut Frank Rubio holds the record with 371 days due to a coolant leak on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft.
