Starliner saga: See photos of astronauts landing, exiting SpaceX Dragon in Florida

USA Today

19-03-2025

Starliner saga: See photos of astronauts landing, exiting SpaceX Dragon in Florida
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Starliner astronauts return to Earth after over nine months in space
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams splashed down off the coast of Florida after over nine months in space.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally back on solid ground.
The NASA astronauts who months ago flew to space aboard Boeing's failed Starliner spacecraft landed Tuesday evening off the coast of Florida on a SpaceX Dragon capsule. The vehicle was the same one selected for their return voyage months ago when two astronauts of a SpaceX mission known as Crew-9 reached the International Space Station.
The Crew-9 team, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, were also on board the Dragon Freedom when it made a dramatic parachute-assisted splashdown following a lengthy 17-hour spaceflight.
For Wilmore and Williams, the water landing brought to an end an unexpected nine-month mission to orbit when they piloted the Boeing Starliner for its maiden crewed voyage. The vehicle, which encountered technical issues when it reached the orbital laboratory, returned in September to Earth without them.
Plenty of people were tuned in to livestreams of the SpaceX Dragon when it neared Earth to prepare for landing. But if you missed Wilmore and Williams' return to Earth, here are photos of the Dragon's landing, followed by the four spacefarers exiting the craft.
See photos of SpaceX Dragon landing off Florida coast
See photos of Crew-9, Starliner astronauts unboarding
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [e-mail]