By Editorial Team 
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who gained international attention after their planned short mission turned into a nine-month stay in space due to technical issues, are finally heading home.
Williams and Wilmore boarded a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule alongside NASA’s Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov from Roscosmos. The Crew-9 mission, a routine staff rotation jointly managed by NASA and SpaceX, launched in September with two empty seats reserved for Williams and Wilmore.
Their extended stay began last June when their original ride — Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft — malfunctioned, forcing them to remain on the International Space Station far longer than anticipated. The Crew Dragon capsule departed the ISS at 1:05 a.m. ET on Tuesday, with splashdown expected later the same day.
After months of uncertainty and technical challenges, Williams and Wilmore are finally set to return to Earth — marking the end of one of NASA’s most politically charged missions.
👉 Stay tuned for more updates on their return!