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.”
FAKE NEWS? ‘When the government demands the press become a state mouthpiece under the threat of punishment, something has gone very wrong,’ a civic group said The top US broadcast regulator on Saturday threatened media outlets over negative coverage of the Middle East war, after US President Donald Trump slammed critical headlines from the “Fake News Media.” The US president since his first term has derided mainstream media as “fake news” and has sued major outlets over what he sees as unfair coverage. Brendan Carr, head of the US Federal Communications Commission — which oversees the nation’s radio, television and Internet media — said broadcasters risked losing their licenses over news coverage. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will
INFLUTENTIAL THEORIST: Habermas was particularly critical of the ‘limited interest’ shown by German politicians in ‘shaping a politically effective Europe Jurgen Habermas, whose work on communication, rationality and sociology made him one of the world’s most influential philosophers and a key intellectual figure in his native Germany, has died. He was 96. Habermas’ publisher, Suhrkamp, said he died on Saturday in Starnberg, near Munich. Habermas frequently weighed in on political matters over several decades. His extensive writing crossed the boundaries of academic and philosophical disciplines, providing a vision of modern society and social interaction. His best-known works included the two-volume Theory of Communicative Action. Habermas, who was 15 at the time of Nazi Germany’s defeat, later recalled the dawn of
The Chinese public maintains relatively warm sentiments toward Taiwan and strongly prefers non-military paths to improving cross-strait relations, a recent survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University showed. The “China Pulse” research project, which polled 2,506 adults between Oct. 27 last year and Jan. 1 this year, found that 86 percent of respondents support strengthening cultural ties, while 81 percent favor deepening economic interaction. The report, co-authored by political scientists at Emory University and advisors at the Carter Center, indicates that the Chinese public views Taiwan’s importance through a lens of shared history and culture rather than geopolitical
Cannabis-based medicines have shown little evidence of effectiveness for treating most mental health and substance-use disorders, according to a large review of past studies published in a major medical journal on Monday. Medical use of cannabinoids has been expanding, including in the US, Canada and Australia, where many patients report using cannabis products to manage conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep problems. Researchers reviewed data from 54 randomized clinical trials conducted between 1980 and May last year involving 2,477 participants for their analysis published in The Lancet. The studies assessed cannabinoids as a primary treatment for mental disorders or substance-use
RSS