WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Four members of NASA's Crew-9 mission, including a pair of US astronauts who had been held up on the International Space Station since June, have finally returned to earth.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore along with another NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, splashed down safely off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, in the Gulf of America, as scheduled at 5:57 p.m. ET Tuesday.
Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew.
After returning to shore, the crew flew to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
'The crew's doing great,' NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich told reporters.
'We are thrilled to have Suni, Butch, Nick, and Aleksandr home after their months-long mission conducting vital science, technology demonstrations, and maintenance aboard the International Space Station,' said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro.
'Per President Trump's direction, NASA and SpaceX worked diligently to pull the schedule a month earlier. This international crew and our teams on the ground embraced the Trump Administration's challenge of an updated, and somewhat unique, mission plan, to bring our crew home. Through preparation, ingenuity, and dedication, we achieve great things together for the benefit of humanity, pushing the boundaries of what is possible from low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars.'
Wilmore and Williams have been living and working aboard the station since docking on June 6, contributing to the expedition crew's research and maintenance activities, while helping ground teams collect critical data for long-duration Starliner flights to the orbiting complex.
The astronauts were supposed to return to earth on June 14, but after encountering technical issues, it was delayed. Upon arrival, NASA and Boeing identified a number of helium leaks and thruster issues on the Starliner, forcing the astronauts to stay on the ISS.
By September, issues with the spacecraft led to NASA opting to send the vessel back to earth unmanned and leaving Wilmore and Williams waiting for the ideal situation.
Williams and Wilmore traveled 121,347,491 miles during their mission, spent 286 days in space, and completed 4,576 orbits around Earth. Hague and Gorbunov traveled 72,553,920 miles during their mission, spent 171 days in space, and completed 2,736 orbits around Earth. The Crew-9 mission was the first spaceflight for Gorbunov. Hague has logged 374 days in space over his two missions.
Williams, who is of Indian origin, has logged 608 days in space over her three flights, making her the woman astronaut to have spent the second longest period in space. She also holds the record for total spacewalking time by a female astronaut, with 62 hours and 6 minutes outside of station.
The American crew members conducted more than 150 unique scientific experiments and technology demonstrations between them, with over 900 hours of research. This research included investigations on plant growth and quality, as well as the potential of stem cell technology to address blood diseases, autoimmune disorders, and cancers. They also tested lighting systems to help astronauts maintain circadian rhythms, loaded the first wooden satellite for deployment, and took samples from the space station's exterior to study whether microorganisms can survive in space.
The Crew-9 mission was the fourth flight of the Dragon spacecraft named Freedom.
The Crew-9 flight is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, with the goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the space station and low Earth orbit.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
