SpaceX Dragon Brings NASA Astronauts Home

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Butch Wilmore are finally heading home.

They have been stuck on the ISS for more than nine months.

They were supposed to stay for just 10 days to test Boeing’s Starliner capsule.

However, a technical failure left them stranded.

Now, they’re riding back to Earth on a SpaceX Dragon capsule.

It undocked early this morning and is expected to splash down off the Florida coast around 6 PM ET.

NASA and Boeing had to send the Starliner capsule back to Earth empty in September.

This was due to technical problems and safety concerns.

This meant astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore had to stay on the ISS longer.

They filled in for two astronauts who were reassigned to future missions.

The ISS, 254 miles (409 km) above Earth, has housed astronauts for nearly 25 years.

It’s a football field-sized lab mainly run by the U.S. and Russia.

As their SpaceX Dragon capsule left the station 260 miles above the Pacific, NASA’s Anne McClain spoke.

She said, “We’ll miss you, but have a great journey home.”

They’re travelling with American astronaut Nicholas Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore had to wait for replacements before returning home.

Crew-10 arrived Friday, briefly bringing the ISS crew to 11.

Williams, Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Aleksandr Gorbunov will return on SpaceX Dragon.

Splashdown is set for 5:57 PM ET Tuesday, weather permitting.

A NASA official said the weather for the splashdown is expected to be “pristine”.

NASA TV and NASA+ will stream the landing and recovery.

Hague said it was an honour to “call the station home.”

NASA Astronauts’ Extended Mission Sparks Political Controversy

Williams and Wilmore’s extended stay on the ISS has sparked political debate.

Elon Musk claimed, without evidence, that they were “abandoned” by the Biden administration.

Donald Trump also suggested that last week’s routine crew rotation was a rescue mission.

The situation put the astronauts in an awkward position.

Wilmore agreed with Musk’s claim, saying it was “absolutely factual” that he offered to bring them home.

However, he said they were turned down by Biden.

Butch Wilmore continued, “We don’t know what was offered, what wasn’t.”

He added, “We don’t know who it was offered to or how it all happened.”

In February, he told CNN they didn’t feel “abandoned,” “stuck,” or “stranded.”

He said, “I get why people might think that, but instead of that narrative, we’d rather say we are ‘prepared and committed.’ That’s what we prefer.”

Elon Musk got into a public argument with Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who accused him of lying.

Mogensen pointed out that Williams and Wilmore’s return had been planned since September.

Musk responded on X by calling Mogensen “fully retarded.”

This sparked backlash from retired astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly, who defended Mogensen.

The feud escalated when Musk called Mark Kelly “a traitor” for supporting U.S. aid to Ukraine.

Kelly shot back, saying Musk was “not a serious guy.”

He also got rid of his Tesla in protest against Musk’s role in federal budget cuts.