NASA's stranded astronauts finally return home aboard SpaceX capsule: LIVE updates

NASA ‘s stranded astronauts are finally on their way home after a brutal nine months in space.

After months of tense anticipation, Sunita Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 1.05am ET (5.05am GMT) on a craft made by Elon Musk ‘s SpaceX .

The pair will now make the 17 hour descent back to Earth and, if all goes according to plan, should splash down off the coast of Florida at roughly 6pm ET (10pm GMT).

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams had been doing scientific research and conducting routine maintenance with the station’s other five astronauts during their nine month stay in space.

Williams had performed two six-hour spacewalks for maintenance outside the ISS, including one with Wilmore.

The ISS, about 254 miles (409 km) in altitude, is a football field-sized research lab that has been housed continuously by international crews of astronauts for nearly 25 years, a key platform of science diplomacy managed primarily by the U.S. and Russia.

Williams told reporters earlier this month that she was looking forward to returning home to see her two dogs and family. ‘It’s been a roller coaster for them, probably a little bit more so than for us,’ she said.

Williams was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998. She had already been a member of two space expeditions in 2006 and 2012 – spending 322 days on the ISS before the Crew-9 mission.

Meanwhile, her Starliner co-pilot Wilmore was also a US Navy captain prior to joining NASA. The 62-year-old spent 178 days in space on two prior missions before getting stranded on board the ISS in 2024.

Left to right: Butch Wilmore, Takuya Onishi, Anne McClain, Kirill Peskov, Nichole Ayers

A SpaceX capsule delivered four astronauts to the International Space Station early on Sunday in a NASA crew-swap mission that will allow stuck astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, to return home after nine months on the orbiting lab.

About 29 hours since launching at 7:03 p.m. ET on Friday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Crew-10 astronauts’ SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked to the ISS at 12:04 a.m. ET (0404 GMT) on Sunday.

The Crew-10 mission is a long-awaited first step to bring Wilmore and Williams back to Earth – part of a plan set by NASA last year that has been given greater urgency by President Donald Trump since he took office in January.

The four-person crew, scheduled to stay on the station for roughly six months, includes NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.

The swap mission became entangled in politics as Trump and his adviser Elon Musk, who is also SpaceX’s CEO, urged a quicker Crew-10 launch. They claimed, without evidence, that Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden had abandoned Wilmore and Williams on the station for political reasons.

Upon splashing down, Wilmore and Williams will have logged 286 days in space – longer than the average six-month ISS mission length, but far short of U.S. record holder Frank Rubio.

His continuous 371 days in space ending in 2023 was the unexpected result of a coolant leak on a Russian spacecraft.

Williams, capping her third spaceflight, will have tallied 608 cumulative days in space, the second most for any U.S. astronaut after Peggy Whitson’s 675 days.

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko set the world record last year at 878 cumulative days.

Rob Navias, from the NASA communications department, said: ‘For the statistical freaks out there, we can tell you that Williams and Wilmore… they will come home with 286 days in space… just to put it into context, not the longest in space history.’

‘It’s not a record-breaking mission.’

NASA’s stranded astronauts will face a long road to recovery after spending more than nine months in space.

Doctors told DailyMail.com that Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will not be able to walk on their own when they return to Earth this month due to living in low gravity.

When the crew emerges from the SpaceX capsule on either March 19 or 20, they will be immediately placed on stretchers and immediately taken for medical evaluations.

Dr Vinay Gupta, a pulmonologist and Air Force veteran told DailyMail.com the crew will begin their rehabilitation program the very same day they return to Earth, with the first phase focusing on walking, flexibility and muscle strengthening.

The astronauts could need up to six weeks of rehabilitation to regain their strength, which will include guided exercise and a nutritional plan, he added.

After months of tense anticipation, Sunita Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 1.05am ET (5.05am GMT) on the Dragon spacecraft made by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

The pair, along with NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Aleksandr Gorbunov, will now make the 17 hour descent back to Earth and, if all goes according to plan, should splash down off the coast of Florida at 5.57pm ET (9.57pm GMT).

‘Crew nine is going home,’ Hague, the commander of departing Crew Dragon, said from the spacecraft moments after they began their journey.

On behalf of crew nine, it was a privilege to call space home… to live and work… in cooperation for the benefit of humanity.

To our colleagues and dear friends who remain on the station, we know the station is in great hands. We’re excited to see what you guys are going to accomplish and we’ll be waiting for ya [sic].

Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and Butch Wilmore’s unexpectedly long space mission became a political flashpoint following comments from President Donald Trump and his close advisor, SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk, who both said the Biden administration ‘abandoned’ the Starliner crew in space for ‘political reasons.’

During a February appearance on Joe Rogan ‘s podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, Musk claimed he offered to bring the pair home eight months ago, but the Biden Administration shot it down because it would have made Trump ‘look good’ in the presidential race against Kamala Harris .

Tonight, Williams and Wilmore plan to return to Earth in SpaceX ‘s Crew-9 Dragon capsule, which is already docked to the ISS.

The pair will be accompanied by NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia ‘s Aleksandr Gorbunov, who flew to the space station in the Crew-9 Dragon in September.

The stranded NASA astronauts, Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and Butch Wilmore, will begin the process of traveling back to earth by ‘undocking’ from the International Space Station.

If all goes according to plan, the pair will splashdown off the Gulf Coast of Florida just shy of 6pm ET Tuesday.

Health experts have already noticed physical signs of deterioration Williams and Wilmore, including rapid weight loss. When they splash down on Tuesday, the frail duo will be placed on stretches and immediately taken for medical evaluations.

Dr Vinay Gupta, a pulmonologist and Air Force veteran said the astronauts could need up to six weeks of rehabilitation to regain their strength, which will include guided exercise and a nutritional plan.

The crew will begin their rehabilitation program the very same day they return to Earth, with the first phase focusing on walking, flexibility and muscle strengthening.

Who are Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and Butch Wilmore, the pair of NASA astronauts stranded in space for nine months?

First, let’s look at how the journey began. The two were chosen as part of NASA’s 2015 effort to start sending American astronauts into space from rockets launching on US soil – something that hadn’t happened since NASA retired the space shuttle program in 2011.

The first eight missions used SpaceX rockets and crew capsules, but the Crew-9 mission carrying Williams and Wilmore was the first to use Boeing’s Starliner – and that’s where the trouble started.

Numerous technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner, including thruster failures and helium leaks, drove NASA to send the capsule home without its crew. Williams and Wilmore were stranded in space since June 2024.

However, a long trip to space was nothing new for Williams and Wilmore, two NASA veterans with a wealth of experience between them.

Suni Williams was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1998. She had already been a member of two space expeditions in 2006 and 2012 – spending 322 days on the ISS before the Crew-9 mission.

Meanwhile, her Starliner co-pilot Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore was also a US Navy captain prior to joining NASA. The 62-year-old spent 178 days in space on two prior missions before getting stranded on board the ISS in 2024.

Here’s what to expect from NASA astronauts Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and Butch Wilmore return to Earth after being stranded in space for nine months:

10:45pm Monday: NASA will begin streaming a live feed of Williams and Wilmore boarding the Crew Dragon spacecraft, closing the hatch in hopes of beginning their departure.

1:05am Tuesday: Williams and Willmore will start to un-dock from the space station, heading toward earth.

5:57pm Tuesday: The capsule carrying Williams and Wilmore is scheduled to splash down off the Gulf Coast of Florida.

Shortly after: The vehicle will be recovered in the water and crews will escort the pair onto a ship.

Williams and Wilmore will then be flown to the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The entire crew returning NASA astronauts Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and Butch Wilmore to earth has just gotten onto the capsule that will get them home.

NASA has said that all systems are working on the spacecraft and they have pleasant weather for a smooth splashdown Tuesday evening.

The quartet of astronauts of Crew-9 posed for a group picture before the hatch closed on the Crew Dragon.

At around 1am ET, the spacecraft will un-dock from the International Space Station.