Elon Musk’s SpaceX Brings Stranded NASA Astronauts Home

After nine months spent aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams are finally being brought home. ​

Originally assigned an eight-day mission, their trip was extended after technical difficulties with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, including thruster problems and helium leaks.

Launched on Mar. 14, the SpaceX Crew-10 mission, which was carrying four astronauts, docked with the ISS on Mar. 16, and enabled Wilmore and Williams to return home. Wilmore and Williams are currently flying aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft (At the time of this article), which also had NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov on board when it undocked from the ISS at 1:05 a.m. ET on March 18, 2025, and is expected to splash down off the coast of Florida at around 5:57 p.m. ET.

The extended mission has drawn criticism of the previous administration's handling of the situation. President Donald Trump accused former President Joe Biden's administration of neglecting the astronauts, stating they were "abandoned in space."

Elon Musk, the chief executive of SpaceX, echoed that sentiment, saying that SpaceX had proposed flying the astronauts home before that time, but that the previous administration had said no. Calling the moves "political machinations," but NASA officials insist that the choices regarding the astronauts' return were made through technical assessments and safety concerns, not political motives. Wilmore himself said he didn’t think politics had anything to do with the extended mission. ​

Unsure of how long this journey would take, Wilmore and Williams remained professional, backing NASA's decision-making while also stating that they were looking forward to the day they could reunite with their families. Their extended mission highlights the challenges of space exploration and the need for redundancy in human spaceflight.

As these American Heroes are making the journey back to Earth. We salute their bravery and fortitude. I for one, have great respect for their professionalism and calm handling of this obviously stressful mission! I know we all look forward to welcoming them home!

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