WASHINGTON – After spending over nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally set to return to Earth early Tuesday, concluding an unexpectedly prolonged mission that has drawn global attention.
Originally, the duo launched in June last year on what was supposed to be a brief roundtrip to test Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. However, due to propulsion issues, the spacecraft was deemed unfit for their return, ultimately making its way back to Earth empty while the astronauts remained on the ISS.
With no immediate way back, NASA reassigned Wilmore and Williams to the NASA-SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which brought a Dragon spacecraft to the ISS in September. The mission was adjusted to accommodate them, with only two astronauts sent instead of the usual four to make space for the stranded pair.
Now, with the arrival of the Crew-10 team on Sunday, Wilmore and Williams are finally set to depart alongside American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
The quartet entered the Dragon capsule and closed its hatch at 11:05 PM (0305 GMT Tuesday). Following final system checks, the spacecraft is expected to undock at 1:05 AM (0505 GMT) and, if all goes according to plan, will deploy parachutes for an ocean landing off the coast of Florida, where a recovery team will retrieve them.
An Unplanned Extended Stay
Wilmore and Williams’ extended mission has drawn significant public attention, surpassing the standard six-month ISS rotation but ranking sixth among the longest single-mission stays by U.S. astronauts.
The record for the longest U.S. spaceflight remains with Frank Rubio, who spent 371 days in orbit in 2023, while the global record belongs to Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437 consecutive days on the Mir space station.
Despite the challenges of prolonged weightlessness—such as muscle and bone loss, fluid shifts, and the need for extensive exercise—experts say Wilmore and Williams have adapted well.
“Folks like Suni Williams are known for their dedication to exercise, and she likely exceeded the standard prescription for staying fit,” said Rihana Bokhari of the Centre for Space Medicine at Baylor College.
Still, the unplanned nature of their extended stay—away from their families and without the necessary packed supplies—has sparked public sympathy and fascination.
“Imagine showing up to work and suddenly learning you’ll be stuck in your office for the next nine months—most people would panic,” said Joseph Keebler, a psychologist at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. “These astronauts have shown incredible resilience.”
Political Controversy Over Their Return
The astronauts’ prolonged stay has also become a political talking point, with former U.S. President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk alleging that the Biden administration failed to rescue them sooner.
“They shamefully forgot about the astronauts because they considered it an embarrassing event for them,” Trump claimed on Truth Social on Monday.
NASA, however, has maintained that its plan for their return has remained unchanged since they were reassigned to Crew-9.
Trump also made controversial remarks about Williams, a decorated former naval captain, referring to her as “the woman with the wild hair” and speculating about the astronauts’ personal dynamic.
“They’ve been left up there—I hope they like each other, maybe they love each other, I don’t know,” he said during a recent press conference.
With their long-awaited return finally underway, Wilmore and Williams will soon be back on Earth, bringing an unexpected chapter in space exploration to a close.
