“Stranded” astronauts finally on their way back to earth after 9 months

Nasa -Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni WilliamsWhich has been in space for the past nine months, is officially on the way home.

The couple began their journey back to Earth on Tuesday, March 18, hoding from the international space station “Right on Time” at. 13:05 et.

Nasa -Astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos Kosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov – who has been in space since September last year – went home with them on the return flight home. The astronauts, also known as SpaceX Crew-9, are expected to splash down in Florida just before 18.00 local time. A press conference is expected to follow around 19:30

In a video shared by Nasa on xFormer Twitter, Spacex Crew Dragon could be seen that they were held with the commentator on the clip confirming that Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams “began their delayed traveling home.” Video’s captions are added: “They are on the way!”

This latest launch comes after a New crew arrived at ISS After gaining momentum from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday 14 March.

The crew, part of a common SpaceX and NASA mission, consists of astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, together with assignment specialists Jaxa (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.

Wilmore and William’s return come after nine months in orbit and several delays to return them home. The couple arrived at ISS in June 2024 and originally expected to stay in space for a maximum of 10 days.

But after their spaceships bumped mechanical issuestheir return was delayed. After weeks of troubleshooting, the spaceship was sent back to earth Without them. Since then, their return has been constantly pushed back and been politically charged, with president Donald Trump blame their long stay in space on their predecessor.

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During his time in space, Wilmore and Williams celebrated several holidays, including Thanksgiving and Christmas – and they even voted in the election in 2024A process that NASA made “very easy,” according to Wilmore.

When they stayed in space, the couple talked openly about their experience. In January, Williams told a group of Needham High School students that the extended trip came as “a little shock.”

“We knew it would probably be a month or so, honestly. But the extended stay was just a little different,” she explained according to WBZ TV. “I haven’t gone.

Weeks later, Wilmore told CNNS Anderson Cooper That despite the rhetoric they are “stranded”, they do not feel abandoned. “He added,” We don’t feel stuck, we don’t feel stranded. ”

“If you help us change the rhetoric, help us change the story, let’s change it to” prepared and engaged. “That’s what we prefer,” he said.

Williams echoed the emotions in a separate press conference earlier this month. “Every day is interesting because we are up in space and it’s a lot of fun,” Williams said. “The most difficult part is having people on the ground does not have to know exactly when we come back.”