Watch: Moment Sunita Williams And Butch Wilmore pacecraft Splashed Down Off Florida Coast
After spending nine months in space, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have safely returned to Earth, splashing down off the Florida coast early this morning at 3:27 am (IST). The White House is touting their homecoming as a victory for President Donald Trump, claiming he fulfilled a promise to “rescue” the astronauts who were “stranded” aboard the International Space Station (ISS). However, the story of their prolonged stay and eventual return is layered with technical challenges and political sparring.
A Mission Gone Awry
Williams and Wilmore launched into space on June 5 last year aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, part of NASA’s Crew Flight Test. The plan was simple: an eight-day mission to the ISS. But things quickly went off course. On June 6, as the Starliner neared the station, NASA and Boeing detected helium leaks and thruster malfunctions. The issues were severe enough that the spacecraft was deemed unfit to carry the crew back, and it was sent to Earth empty. The astronauts, meanwhile, remained in orbit.
For months, NASA maintained that Williams and Wilmore were safe and not stranded, emphasizing their well-being despite the unexpected delay. Eventually, in August, the agency reassigned them to SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission alongside NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Today, after more than nine months away, the team splashed down successfully in SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
The White House Takes Credit
The White House wasted no time celebrating the return. In a post on X, they shared a video of the splashdown and wrote:
The statement reflects a narrative pushed by Trump earlier this year. On January 28, he publicly called on Elon Musk and SpaceX to “go get” the astronauts, accusing the Biden administration of having “virtually abandoned” them. The White House now frames the Crew-9 mission as the fulfillment of that pledge.
Musk and Trump’s Partnership
Elon Musk, SpaceX’s CEO, has been a vocal player in this saga. He confirmed that Trump approached him to expedite the astronauts’ return, calling their prolonged stay “terrible.” Musk has since claimed that SpaceX offered to bring Williams and Wilmore home much earlier potentially within a few months but says the Biden administration rejected the proposal.
In a Fox News interview today, Musk elaborated:
Musk’s comments suggest a behind-the-scenes tussle, with SpaceX positioning itself as a ready solution sidelined by politics.
NASA’s Stance and the Bigger Picture
Throughout the ordeal, NASA has pushed back against the “stranded” label. The agency repeatedly assured the public that Williams and Wilmore were healthy and secure on the ISS, framing their extended stay as a manageable hiccup rather than a crisis. The decision to use SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, they say, was a practical fix, not a desperate rescue.
The astronauts’ return marks the end of a challenging chapter, but the debate over credit and blame is far from over. The White House and Trump point to Musk’s involvement as proof of their leadership, while Musk hints at political roadblocks from the Biden administration. Whatever the truth, Williams and Wilmore are back on solid ground—and the political spin is just getting started.