Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore had been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) since early June 2024 resulting from malfunctions with their spacecraft, Boeing’s Starliner. However, they lastly made their return to Earth in March.
“On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home,” radioed SpaceX Mission Control in California as Williams and Wilmore returned to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule on March 18, 2025.
WATCH: NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore exit capsule on Earth after 9 surprising months in area. pic.twitter.com/RKGjnDSNtK
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 18, 2025
Upon their return, discover out extra about Williams and Wilmore, and whether or not they have plans to return to area sooner or later.
Who Is Suni Williams?
Williams was born in Ohio and raised in Massachusetts. A former take a look at pilot within the U.S. Navy, she has collected over 3,000 hours of flight time throughout 30 totally different plane. She was chosen as a NASA astronaut in 1998.
With 62 hours spent on 9 spacewalks, Williams set the report for essentially the most time spent spacewalking in a profession by any feminine astronaut.
In August 2024, Suni’s husband, Michael Williams, shared with The Wall Street Journal that he didn’t consider she was upset about spending extra time on the area station, including, “That’s her happy place.”
Who Is Butch Wilmore?
Wilmore, a local of Tennessee, can be a Navy take a look at pilot who flew fight missions over Iraq and Bosnia within the Nineteen Nineties. He was chosen as an astronaut by NASA in 2000.
Wilmore, who shares two teenage daughters— Daryn and Logan—together with his spouse Deanna, has been capable of FaceTime his household a number of instances a day from the ISS, as shared in August 2024.
“It is so cool. He gives us a lot of Earth views. I especially like seeing the sunset,” mentioned his eldest daughter, Daryn, on the time.
Deanna added, “He just takes it knowing the Lord’s in control, and since the Lord’s in control of it, he’s content where he is.”
“You just sort of have to roll with it and expect the unexpected,” she mentioned.
Are Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams Returning to Space?
The astronauts spent roughly 286 days on the ISS, from June 5, 2024, to March 18, 2025. Despite the prolonged keep, each Williams and Wilmore insisted throughout a February 13, 2025, interview with CNN that they by no means felt stranded or caught.
While they haven’t but made any specific feedback about returning to area, their our bodies will want time to get well after such a protracted length in area. They should even be assessed for each psychological and bodily health earlier than contemplating one other mission, particularly given the potential dangers if issues don’t go as deliberate.