Astronauts Stranded in Space for 9 Months Get What They've Been Waiting for
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, the NASA astronauts who have been stranded in space for nine months due to a broken shuttle, are finally headed back to Earth.
NASA confirmed that the pair undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 1:05 a.m. EST on Tuesday, March 18. It was noted the pair departed 'right on time,' though the stranded adventurers may argue it was nine months later than preferred. Williams and Wilmore are joined on their reentry mission by fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The four, known as 'SpaceX Crew-9,' are expected to splash down in Florida around 6 p.m. local time. A press conference will follow at 7:30 p.m.
Williams and Wilmore arrived at the ISS last June, expecting to stay for only 10 days. But after their spacecraft encountered a rash of mechanical issues and was eventually sent back to Earth without them, the pair were forced to make their home on the ISS. They celebrated several holidays, including Thanksgiving and Christmas, voted in the 2024 presidential election, and issued updates to concerned civilians even as they remained unsure when, or if, they would return to Earth.In January, while speaking remotely to a group of high school students, Williams admitted that their unplanned stay aboard the ISS came as 'a little bit of a shock.' "We knew that it would be probably a month or so, honestly. But the extended stay was just a little bit different,' she said. 'I haven't walked. I haven't sat down. I haven't laid down. You don't have to. You can just close your eyes and float where you are right here."
At a press conference earlier this month, Williams shared that she and Wilmore were coping just fine with their predicament despite its serious nature. "Every day is interesting because we're up in space and it's a lot of fun," she explained. "The hardest part is having the folks on the ground have to not know exactly when we're coming back."
You can watch live coverage of Williams' and Wilmore's much-anticipated arrival back to Earth beginning at 6 p.m. tonight on NASA+ as well as NASA's X and YouTube accounts.
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