After an unexpected nine-month stay in space, a pair of NASA astronauts finally returned to Earth on Tuesday.
A SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship carrying Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — alongside fellow American Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov — streaked through the atmosphere before deploying parachutes for a gentle splashdown off the Florida coast at 5:57pm.
Ground teams erupted in cheers as the gumdrop-shaped spacecraft, named Freedom, charred from withstanding scorching temperatures of 2,000°C during re-entry, bobbed steadily on the waves beneath a clear, sunny sky.
Photo: AFP / NASA / Keegan Barber
“What a ride — I see a capsule full of grins,” Hague said.
As fast boats raced to the capsule for initial safety checks — an unlikely escort arrived in the form of a playful pod of dolphins.
Soon after, a larger recovery vessel hoisted the Freedom aboard.
Photo: AFP / NASA / Keegan Barber
Teams opened the hatch and one by one the astronauts were helped out onto mobility aids, waving and flashing thumbs-up signs.
They were flown by helicopter to Houston, Texas, where they were to meet their families in another day or two, and begin a physical rehabilitation program.
“PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT,” the White House wrote on X.
Photo: EPA: EFE / NASA / Keegan Barber
Wilmore and Williams, both ex-navy pilots and veterans of two prior space missions, flew to the International Space Station (ISS) in June last year, on what was supposed to be a days-long roundtrip to test out Boeing’s Starliner on its first crewed flight.
However, propulsion issues rendered the spacecraft unfit for their return, forcing it to return empty.
They were subsequently reassigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which arrived at the ISS in September last year with a reduced crew of two — rather than the usual four — to accommodate the pair, who had become widely referred to as the “stranded” astronauts.
With Crew-10 docking on Sunday, Crew-9 was finally cleared to depart.
Wilmore and Williams’ 286-day stay exceeds the typical six-month ISS rotation, but ranks sixth among US records. Frank Rubio holds the longest single-mission US stay at 371 days, while Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov retains the world record at 437 days.
“If you found out you went to work today and were going to be stuck in your office for the next nine months, you might have a panic attack,” Joseph Keebler, a psychologist at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told reporters. “These individuals have shown unbelievable resilience.”
DEADLOCK: Putin has vowed to continue fighting unless Ukraine cedes more land, while talks have been paused with no immediate results expected, the Kremlin said Russia on Friday said that peace talks with Kyiv were on “pause” as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin still wanted to capture the whole of Ukraine. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that he was running out of patience with Putin, and the NATO alliance said it would bolster its eastern front after Russian drones were shot down in Polish airspace this week. The latest blow to faltering diplomacy came as Russia’s army staged major military drills with its key ally Belarus. Despite Trump forcing the warring sides to hold direct talks and hosting Putin in Alaska, there
North Korea has executed people for watching or distributing foreign television shows, including popular South Korean dramas, as part of an intensifying crackdown on personal freedoms, a UN human rights report said on Friday. Surveillance has grown more pervasive since 2014 with the help of new technologies, while punishments have become harsher — including the introduction of the death penalty for offences such as sharing foreign TV dramas, the report said. The curbs make North Korea the most restrictive country in the world, said the 14-page UN report, which was based on interviews with more than 300 witnesses and victims who had
COMFORT WOMEN CLASH: Japan has strongly rejected South Korean court rulings ordering the government to provide reparations to Korean victims of sexual slavery The Japanese government yesterday defended its stance on wartime sexual slavery and described South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese compensation as violations of international law, after UN investigators criticized Tokyo for failing to ensure truth-finding and reparations for the victims. In its own response to UN human rights rapporteurs, South Korea called on Japan to “squarely face up to our painful history” and cited how Tokyo’s refusal to comply with court orders have denied the victims payment. The statements underscored how the two Asian US allies still hold key differences on the issue, even as they pause their on-and-off disputes over historical
CONSOLIDATION: The Indonesian president has used the moment to replace figures from former president Jokowi’s tenure with loyal allies In removing Indonesia’s finance minister and U-turning on protester demands, the leader of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is scrambling to restore public trust while seizing a chance to install loyalists after deadly riots last month, experts say. Demonstrations that were sparked by low wages, unemployment and anger over lawmakers’ lavish perks grew after footage spread of a paramilitary police vehicle running over a delivery motorcycle driver. The ensuing riots, which rights groups say left at least 10 dead and hundreds detained, were the biggest of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s term, and the ex-general is now calling on the public to restore their
RSS