‘Stranded’ Astronauts Return to Earth After 9 Months on Space Station

Stranded Astronauts Return to Earth From Space Station Published March 18, 2025 1:56 PM PDT | Updated March 18, 2025 4:16 PM PDT Play video content NASA After 286 days in space, two American astronauts who've been stuck on the International Space Station since last spring are finally back down on Earth. Butch Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams splashed down softly off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida today at about 5:58 PM ET, following a 19-hour journey in a SpaceX spacecraft, alongside astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov. It was a smooth arrival back to Planet Earth, with Dragon Freedom’s Crew-9 parachutes deploying 6,000 feet in the air, and the control room erupting in cheers as they splashed down into the water.