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NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore endured in space for about nine months and then returned to Earth after enduring in space much longer than originally planned.
They, along with two other crew members, splattered from Tallahassee, Florida on the SpaceX Dragon Capsule.
Boeing’s Starliner capsule issues forced Williams and Wilmore to stay on the International Space Station much longer than about 10 days.
Needless to say, their families and communities couldn’t wait to welcome them with open arms.
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Willmore were splattered across Earth on Tuesday after spending nine months at the International Space Station.
“I’m so happy to be back!” her mother, Bonnie Pandya, told NBC10 Boston on Tuesday. “We were waiting and waiting, and now you’re back with us. We love you, Suni, and we missed you.”
Students and teachers at Sunita Williams Elementary School in their hometown of Needham, Massachusetts, were certainly excited to welcome Williams’ home, along with the entire community.
Scott McCourt went to school with Williams and was in the same Needham graduation class in 1983. He currently co-owns Common Room, the Neegum Sports Bar, which hosted a watch party on Tuesday night to mark the return of his former classmates.
“We’ve been proud of Suni for a long time and certainly know about her, and now she’s known worldwide at the event and it’s really great to see,” McCourt said. “Everyone knew that she was going to be something because she was that kind of person. You never knew of a world-famous astronaut or anything like that, but yeah, she’s a great person.”
“It’s incredible that town is bustling about having a real home hero,” added Tom Griffin, who co-owns a common room with McCourt. “There’s nothing I don’t want to do. Even my favorite things in a world I don’t want to do are stuck in that tiny little space? That’s incredible for me.”
“This is going to be a huge return. When she returns to Needham, we hope she comes to eat a bit.
Needham native Sunita Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore spent nine months in space after originally scheduled an eight-day mission. The flight that eventually took them home was released on Friday. nbc10 Boston: https://instagram.com/nbc10boston https://tiktok.com/@nbc10boston https://facebook.com/nbc10boston https://twitter.com/nbc10boston https://bsky.app/profile/nbcboston
Along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian astronaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, Williams and Wilmore left the space station at 1:05am early Tuesday. The group of four, known as Crew 9, splashed out on smooth water off the coast of Florida at 5:57pm as planned.
Williams looked back on his long hours in space earlier this month. The emotions mixed together and I went home.
“This very unique place is clearly outside the window, but also gives an incredible perspective on how to solve the problem,” Williams said. “I don’t want to lose it, and when I leave with that spark of inspiration, somehow I have to bottle it.”
Following the splashdown on Tuesday evening, four astronauts were flying to the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
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