Within an hour, the astronauts were out of their capsule, waving and smiling at the cameras while being hustled away in reclining stretchers for routine medical checks.
From left, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, RussiaÄôs Alexander Gorbunov, and NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Sunita Williams sit inside a SpaceX capsule onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan after landing in the water off the coast of Florida, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Keegan Barber/NASA via AP/PTI)
Stuck in space no more, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams returned to Earth on Tuesday, hitching a different ride home to close out a saga that began with a bungled test flight more than nine months ago.
Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico in the early evening, just hours after departing the International Space Station. Splashdown occurred off the coast of Tallahassee in the Florida Panhandle, bringing their unplanned odyssey to an end.
Within an hour, the astronauts were out of their capsule, waving and smiling at the cameras while being hustled away in reclining stretchers for routine medical checks.
This image taken from video released by SpaceX shows dolphins swimming near a SpaceX capsule, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, after landing off the coast of Florida with NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore and Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov. (SpaceX via AP/PTI)(AP03_19_2025_000001B)In this image provided by NASA, a SpaceX capsule floats over the Gulf of Mexico, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, as it lands off the coast of Florida with NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore and Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov. (Keegan Barber/NASA via AP/PTI)(AP03_19_2025_000003B)In this image provided by NASA, a SpaceX capsule splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, as it lands off the coast of Florida with NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore and Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov. (Keegan Barber/NASA via AP/PTI)(AP03_19_2025_000002B)NASA employees react on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at Johnson Space Center in Houston after watching astronauts splash down off the coast of Florida. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis via PTI)(AP03_19_2025_000004B)Russia’s Alexander Gorbunov waves after being helped out of a SpaceX capsule onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan after landing in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Fla., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Keegan Barber/NASA via AP/PTI)(AP03_19_2025_000009B)From left, Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate; Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program; and Bill Spetch, operations integration manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program, speak to reporters during a press conference at Johnson Space Center on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Houston, following the splashdown of astronauts Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Nick Hague, and Alexander Gorbunov. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis via PTI)(AP03_19_2025_000007B)This image taken from video provided by SpaceX shows NASA’s Sunita Williams being helped after exiting the SpaceX capsule, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (SpaceX via AP/PTI)(AP03_19_2025_000011B)From left, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, RussiaÄôs Alexander Gorbunov, and NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Sunita Williams sit inside a SpaceX capsule onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan after landing in the water off the coast of Florida, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Keegan Barber/NASA via AP/PTI)(AP03_19_2025_000010B)NASA astronaut Suni Williams gives a thumbs-up after being helped out of a SpaceX capsule onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan after landing in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Fla., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (NASA via AP/PTI)(AP03_19_2025_000014B)
**EDS: THIRD PARTY IMAGE** In this screenshot via @NASA on X on March 19, 2025, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams is being helped out of a SpaceX capsule after it splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Florida, USA, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (@NASA via PTI Photo)(PTI03_19_2025_000017B)
This post was last modified on March 19, 2025 8:45 am