NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore Return to Earth After 9-Month ISS Stint
After an extended stay of over nine months, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore are finally heading back to Earth. The duo departed the International Space Station (ISS) early Tuesday morning, aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, and are expected to splash down off the coast of Florida around 6 pm ET (22:00 GMT).
Williams and Wilmore were originally scheduled to stay on the ISS for just eight days after arriving on June 5, 2024, as part of Boeing’s first crewed test flight of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. However, technical issues with the Starliner, including helium leaks and malfunctioning thrusters, deemed it unsafe for their return journey.
The Unexpected Extension
The astronauts’ extended stay on the ISS was a result of the Starliner’s technical issues. Although engineers restored four out of five failed thrusters, NASA deemed the spacecraft too risky for human travel and sent it back empty. Williams and Wilmore had to wait for a replacement crew to arrive before they could return home.
Life on the ISS
Despite the unexpected extension, Williams and Wilmore remained in good health and continued with their routine, which included exercise, work, and leisure activities. They even conducted a spacewalk together in January and enjoyed a festive Christmas dinner.
Previous Extended Stays in Space
Williams and Wilmore are not the first astronauts to face extended stays in space due to unforeseen circumstances. Frank Rubio holds the record for the longest single spaceflight by a US astronaut, with a 371-day mission on board the ISS from 2022 to 2023. Soviet astronaut Sergei Krikalev was stranded on the Mir space station for 311 days in 1991 due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
