After nine months in space, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have finally settled in
Their SpaceX capsule made a fast and fiery re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere, with four parachutes opening to carry them to a soft landing off the coast of Florida.
A pod of dolphins circled the craft.
After a recovery lift from the water, crew chiefs Astronaut Nick Hague and Cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov waved and waved as they helped the astronauts out of the cockpit.
NASA’s Suni Williams, wearing a white spacesuit and a helmet, exits the capsule, smiling, accompanied by two black-clad aides.
“The crew is doing great,” Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, said at a news conference.
It concludes a mission that was supposed to last just eight days.
The spacecraft that Butch and Suni were used to traveling to the International Space Station, made a dramatic landing after experiencing technical problems.
“It’s amazing to have a crew of nine, just a beautiful build,” said Joel Montalbano, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Directorate.
He thanked SpaceX for its ability and flexibility to deliver the astronauts.
The trip home took 17 hours.
After such a long time in weightlessness, the astronauts are helped onto a stretcher, which is standard practice.
They will then be checked over by a team and then reunited with their families.
“The big thing is seeing friends and family and the people they might have been expecting to spend Christmas with,” said Helen Sherman, Britain’s first astronaut.
“All the family celebrations, birthdays and other events that they thought would be part of them – now, they can make up for some of the lost time they’ve been hoping for.”
Butch and Suni’s story begins in June 2024.
They are taking part in the first crewed test flight of the Starliner spacecraft, developed by aerospace company Boeing.
But the capsule has encountered several technical problems on its way to the space station, and it is considered too risky to take the astronauts home.
The Starliner returned safely to Earth in September, but that meant the pair needed a new journey to make their return.
NASA’s planned flight choice: a SpaceX capsule that arrived at the ISS in late September.
It flew with two astronauts instead of four, leaving two seats for Butch and Suni’s return.
The only catch was that the planned one-month mission was ready, with the astronauts given the go-ahead to stay there until then.
The NASA pair embraced their longer-than-expected stay in space.
They conducted a series of experiments on the orbiting laboratory, and Suni broke the record for the most hours spent by a woman outside the space station. At Christmas, the team dressed in Santa hats and reindeer antlers — sending a festive message about the Christmas they planned to spend at home.
Although the astronauts are “stranded,” they are not in any need.
They have been in an emergency throughout their mission – and the rest of the crew – to be brought home by a space shuttle.
Now that the astronauts are home, they will be flown quickly to the Houston Hinson Space Center in Texas, where they are currently being checked out.
Prolonged use of space takes its toll on the body, with astronauts losing their ability to breathe and lose their sense of smell. Blood pressure is affected, and blood transfusions can also cause blurred vision.
It will take a long time for the body to return to normal, and the pair will undergo extensive exercise as their bodies readjust to living in zero gravity.
British astronaut Tim Pee says it will take some time to adjust.
“Your body feels good, it feels like a vacation,” he told BBC.
“Your heart is having an easy time, your muscles and tissues are having an easy time. You’re floating around the space station in this wonderful zero-gravity environment.”
“But you have to keep up the exercise routine. You’re in good shape in space, not for space, but for the medical analysis you do when you get back to gravity. The first two days of being there were absolutely amazing.”
In interviews on the ship, Butch and Suni have said they were better prepared for the longer stay than they expected – but they got what they were looking for when they got home.
Speaking to CBS last Saturday, Suni Williams said: “I’m looking forward to seeing my family, my dogs and jumping in the ocean. It’s going to be really fun – to come back.”
