The long, unexpected space saga of astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams is finally coming to an end. After spending a grueling nine months stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the two astronauts, along with crewmates Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, are at last on their way home.

Early Tuesday morning, at just past 1 a.m. Eastern Time, the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, aptly named “Freedom,” undocked from the ISS, setting the stage for their long-overdue return journey. NASA has confirmed that the de-orbit burn will take place about an hour before splashdown, expected around 5 p.m. ET in the waters off Florida’s coast.

This marks the end of what was meant to be an eight-day mission, which instead became a test of resilience, patience, and human ingenuity due to unforeseen complications with the Boeing Starliner, resulting in NASA astronauts delayed return from ISS.

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A Mission Gone Wrong: How They Got Stuck

June 2024: A Hopeful Beginning

When Wilmore and Williams launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner in June 2024, the atmosphere was full of optimism. The mission was set to be a historic moment for the aerospace company—an eight-day stay at the ISS, proving Starliner’s capability as a reliable transportation method for NASA astronauts.

However, things quickly took a turn. Shortly after docking, engineers noticed several anomalies with Starliner’s propulsion system. At first, the team believed these issues were minor and could be fixed while in orbit. But as diagnostics continued, NASA engineers deemed the spacecraft unsafe for a return journey.

July 2024: No Quick Fixes

By July, NASA and Boeing had been working tirelessly to troubleshoot the problems. Some engineers proposed potential in-space repairs, but the risk factors were too high. Wilmore and Williams, meanwhile, had to come to terms with an indefinite stay aboard the ISS.

“We trained for a lot of different contingencies, but nothing quite like this,” Wilmore had remarked during an early press conference.

September 2024: A Glimmer of Hope?

As the months dragged on, hope fluctuated. Boeing worked on a possible software patch, but each attempt to certify Starliner for a safe return failed. There was even a discussion about bringing the astronauts home on a Russian Soyuz capsule, but logistical and diplomatic hurdles made that plan unfeasible.

All the while, Wilmore and Williams adapted to their new normal, contributing to ISS research, assisting with spacewalks, and maintaining morale among the crew.

Williams later reflected, “It makes you really want to enjoy every bit of your time that you have up here.”

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The Politics of Space Rescue

The astronauts’ extended stay soon became entangled in political controversy. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stirred the pot by alleging—without evidence—that the Biden administration had intentionally abandoned Wilmore and Williams in space rather than seeking assistance from SpaceX. He suggested that politics played a role, claiming that officials didn’t want to make him, a Trump supporter, look good by relying on his spacecraft for rescue.

While NASA remained focused on the technical and safety aspects of the mission, the rumors fueled debates in Washington and the broader space community. When pressed about the controversy, Wilmore simply stated, “We have no information on that … what was offered, what was not offered, who it was offered to, how that process went. That’s information that we simply don’t have.”

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The Final Rescue: SpaceX Steps In

By early 2025, it was clear that Boeing’s Starliner would not be bringing Wilmore and Williams home. NASA made the call to bring in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, a proven spacecraft that had already been used multiple times for astronaut transport.

The plan was set in motion, and in March, Crew Dragon “Freedom” arrived at the ISS to pick up the stranded astronauts. After final preparations and a heartfelt farewell to their fellow crew members, Wilmore, Williams, Hague, and Gorbunov boarded the spacecraft and began their long-awaited return to Earth.

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Splashdown and What’s Next

If all goes as planned, the astronauts will splash down off the coast of Florida this evening, marking the official end of a mission that stretched far beyond its original timeline.

NASA has assured that Wilmore and Williams will undergo extensive medical evaluations and debriefings upon return. Extended space missions can have significant physical effects, including muscle atrophy and bone density loss. Despite these challenges, both astronauts have expressed gratitude for the experience and the team efforts that brought them home.

The Boeing Starliner saga raises critical questions about the future of commercial space travel. Will Boeing be able to fix its issues and regain NASA’s confidence? Or will this incident push the agency to rely more heavily on SpaceX and other private space companies?

For now, though, all eyes are on the sky as Wilmore and Williams finally come back home, ending one of the most unexpected space odysseys in recent history.

Photo Designed By Freepik

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