Astronauts return to Earth after nine months stuck in space

(CN) — NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore splashed back down to Earth on Tuesday, following a stay on the International Space Station that lasted months longer than planned.

The pair of astronauts departed the space station in a SpaceX Dragon capsule with two other crew members shortly after 1 a.m. Eastern time. Williams and Wilmore — accompanied in their return by fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov — touched down Gulf Coast of Florida at around 6 p.m. Eastern time.

“Your service has been very much appreciated, and we’ll miss you, but have a great journey home,” Anne McClain, a NASA astronaut still aboard the International Space Station, told the departing crew as their capsule pulled away.

Williams and Wilmore arrived at the International Space Station last June. They were originally supposed to spend only about a week aboard, but their return was delayed due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner capsule they piloted to the station.

Last August, after months of investigation into the Starliner capsule’s problems, NASA decided it was too dangerous for the pair to come down the same way they went up. NASA reported it and Boeing had identified helium leaks from the Starliner, as well as problems with the spacecraft’s thruster controls.

Instead, the agency announced the Starliner would return uncrewed, and that Williams and Wilmore would return home alongside the crew of NASA’s SpaceX “Crew 9” mission — later determined to be Gorbunov and Hague. The two launched from Cape Canaveral last September, with a pair of empty seats in the Dragon spacecraft reserved for Williams and Wilmore.

The cosmonaut and three astronauts were originally supposed to return to Earth in February, though NASA announced in December their departure had been pushed back to March. NASA said the monthlong delay was determined to better accommodate the Crew 10 mission, which launched earlier this week.

“It was a wonderful day. Great to see our friends arrive,” Williams told press after the Crew 10 mission arrived at the space station on Sunday.

The delay bringing Williams and Wilmore home also prompted a public dispute in February between several veteran astronauts and SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk.

Musk claimed in a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity, without evidence, that Williams and Wilmore had been left on the International Space Station longer than anticipated “for political reasons.” President Donald Trump, who was also present for the interview, said simply “Biden,” to which Musk nodded.

European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, a former International Space Station commander, called out Musk’s statement as a lie on social media. He reiterated that the plan since September had been for Williams and Wilmore to return to Earth on the Crew 9 capsule. Musk called Mogensen “fully retarded” and insisted the astronauts could have been returned months earlier.

When NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, another former International Space Station commander, came to Mogensen’s defense, Musk doubled down by calling the Danish astronaut an idiot. Democratic Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Scott Kelly’s brother and another retired astronaut, also called Musk out for his derogatory comments.

Musk announced on social media it was “time to begin preparations for deorbiting” the International Space Station in the midst of this public spat, years ahead of schedule. The space station is currently expected to remain in operation through 2030.

Williams and Wilmore, now back on Earth, face the challenge of re-acclimating to terrestrial conditions after spending months in space. Their bones and muscles have likely weakened from being in a low gravity environment for so long, and they may feel dizziness and light-headedness as their bodies re-adjust to Earth gravity. One study has also suggested that space travel weakens the immune system, as scientists have noted astronauts suffer from skin rashes, viral infections and respiratory diseases.

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