Welcome Home! Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore Return to Earth After 286 Days

The moment has finally arrived. Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have safely returned to Earth following a historic 286-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). They, along with astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Grebyonkin, splashed down in SpaceX's Dragon Freedom capsule off the Florida coast near Tallahassee at 5:57 pm ET on Tuesday (3:27 am IST, Wednesday).

Williams and Wilmore had originally travelled to the space station in June last year for an eight-day mission but were forced to stay back there due to an issue with Boeing's Starliner capsule, which had developed problems with its propulsion system. Deemed unfit to fly it returned without the crew in September. This mission became a test flight for Starliner, which was later grounded after returning to Earth.

A Successful Return

Videos of the capsule’s splashdown, shared by SpaceX, showed the dramatic moment of re-entry and recovery. The company posted on X, “Splashdown of Dragon confirmed – welcome back to Earth, Nick, Suni, Butch, and Aleks!” The spacecraft executed a deorbit burn at 2:41 am, a maneuver that slows it down before it splashes into the water. The burn set the stage for splashdown 44 minutes later, at 3:27 am IST.
Upon arrival, the NASA recovery team quickly opened the hatch of the capsule and an hour later, after completing their 17-hour journey, Williams, Wilmore, and their fellow crew members were seen emerging from the capsule. William, as she exited, was seen smiling, giving a thumbs-up, and waving to the cameras as she was transferred to a mobility chair, showing no signs of fatigue after her extended stay in space. The astronauts were helped onto stretchers and escorted away for routine medical checks. As the Dragon capsule splashed down, SpaceX Mission Control in California greeted the astronauts with a simple message: “On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home.”

The rescue mission was hailed by the White House, with officials attributing it to President Donald Trump’s efforts and commitment. A tweet from the White House read, “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!”

Mission Highlights
* Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore spent 286 days aboard the ISS, completing over 4,500 orbits and traveling more than 121 million statute miles.
* During their time in space, the astronauts circled the Earth 4,576 times, covering a distance equivalent to 121 million miles (or 195 million kilometers).
* Williams, in particular, added to her already impressive career tally, reaching 608 cumulative days in space — the second most by any U.S. astronaut, trailing only Peggy Whitson’s 675 days. Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko holds the world record with 878 days.

Both astronauts will now undergo NASA's standard post-mission rehabilitation program, which spans 45 days. This program is designed to help them recover from the physical effects of spaceflight and return to normal life after such an extended period in space​