Although Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore were only supposed to go on a quick jaunt to the International Space Station in June 2024, their return mission was scuppered due to issues with their Boeing Starliner. This left them up in space for nine months.
Williams might insist that the pair haven't been 'stranded' in space, but that hasn't stopped the media coining the idea and President Donald Trump using their story to promote Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The tech billionaire claimed that the Biden administration 'abandoned' Williams and Wilmore up there, but now, they're finally back on terra firma.
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Despite a March 12 launch for the Crew-10 relief crew being aborted at the last minute due to issues with the hydraulic system, and a second attempt called off due to bad weather, it was third time lucky as a March 16 mission led to emotional scenes where those aboard the ISS met with the Crew-10 astronauts.
After a brief handover, a NASA livestream confirmed Williams and Wilmore left the ISS at 1:05 a.m. EST on March 18, meaning they were scheduled to make a splash off the coast of Florida at around 5:57 p.m. EST. (21:57 GMT).
Even though we were told that the astronauts would be immediately rushed off via stretcher to undergo a 'brutal' recovery regime due to their unexpectedly long stay in space, we had to be reminded that the pair would be quickly carried away. At least there were plenty of smiles as they went to be checked over. In the aftermath, the White House wasted no time in sharing its thanks for the POTUS.
Posting on X, the official account wrote: "PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT: President Trump pledged to rescue the astronauts stranded in space for nine months. Today, they safely splashed down in the Gulf of America, thanks to @ElonMusk , @SpaceX , and @NASA !"
These sentiments were then shared by Musk, who retweeted the post.
Williams and Wilmore had already thanked Musk and Trump for their help in getting them home, and it's clear the White House has similar praise for the Commander-in-Chief.