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(Hill) – After the thruster issues after the launch of Boeing’s Starliner mission last year, the SpaceX capsule, tasked with bringing back two NASA astronauts who spent several months at the International Space Station (ISS), has returned to Earth.
The SpaceX capsule carrying Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams parachute to the Gulf of Mexico in the evening, shortly after leaving the International Space Station. The splashdown occurred off the coast of Tallahassee in the Florida Panhandle, ending an unplanned Odyssey.
Within an hour, the astronaut had left the capsule, waving and smiling at the camera, before running into a reclining stretcher for a daily medical check-up.
The pair returned this week after their roughly one week stay turned into a nine-month mission for IS after the Starliner had many issues, from gas leaks to propulsion system issues. The capsule was returned to Earth without crew last September.
File – In this photo provided by NASA, Boeing Crew flight test astronaut Butch Willmore, left, Snee Williams, posing for a portrait in the front vestibule between the International Space Station Harmony Module and the Boeing Starliner spacecraft front harbor on June 13, 2024 (NASA via AP, file)
Wilmore and Williams have joined the SpaceX capsule by two other astronauts, Nick Hague and Roscosmos astronaut Alexander Golbunov. The four-person crew, part of NASA’s Crew 9 mission, is scheduled to splash off the Florida coast Tuesday evening.
The Starliner’s first crew mission, which was delayed several times, was launched into space last June. SpaceX was originally scheduled to bring the duo home in February, but later moved the return mission to March.
The return of Wilmore and Williams became political debate earlier this year, with President Donald Trump claiming former President Joe Biden was “abandoned” by the ISS and asking SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to speed up their returns.
The astronaut pushed back the president’s claims and said in an interview with the ISS that he was “not abandoned.”
“We don’t feel stuck, we don’t feel stuck,” Williams said at the time. “I understand why others think about it. We are ready. We commit.”
Former NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez told News Nation on Monday that SpaceX, which helps astronauts return, is an example of NASA coexisting and supporting “eacher” with the private industry.
Physical effects of space life include dizziness and “baby’s feet.”
“Remember that Sonny and Butch went up on a test flight on the Starliner main flight where humans were inside the ship. So, remember that the eight-day test flight turned into a nine-month test for them,” Hernandez told Host Blake Burman on “The Hill.”
“But it’s the nature of the game and we create a healthy balance of competition, so I think we need both private industry and government to engage in space,” he added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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