Smiles, thumbs ups and a safe return for ‘stranded’ Nasa astronauts
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FLORIDA - Home at last. After an unexpected nine-month stay in space, a pair of Nasa astronauts finally returned to Earth on March 18, concluding a mission that has gripped global attention and become a political flashpoint.
A SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship carrying Mr Butch Wilmore and Ms Suni Williams – alongside fellow American Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov – streaked through the atmosphere before deploying parachutes for a gentle splashdown off the Florida coast at 5.57pm (5.57am Singapore time).
Ground teams erupted in cheers as the gumdrop-shaped spacecraft named Freedom, charred from withstanding scorching temperatures of 2,000 deg C during re-entry, bobbed steadily on the waves beneath a clear, sunny sky.
“What a ride – I see a capsule full of grins,” Mr Hague said.
As fast boats raced to the capsule for initial safety checks, an unlikely escort arrived in the form of a playful pod of dolphins.
Soon after, a larger recovery vessel hoisted Freedom aboard.
Teams opened the hatch and, one by one, the astronauts were helped out onto mobility aids, waving and flashing thumbs-up signs.
Next, they will be flown by helicopter to Houston, where they will begin a 45-day rehabilitation programme.
“PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT,” the White House posted on social media platform X, repeating a contentious claim that US President Donald Trump had accelerated the recovery timeline.
‘Unbelievable resilience’
The quartet left the International Space Station (ISS) roughly 17 hours earlier after exchanging final farewells and hugs with remaining crew members.
Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams, both former navy pilots and veterans of two prior space missions, flew to the orbital lab in June 2024 on what was supposed to be a days-long round trip to test out Boeing’s Starliner on its first crewed flight.
But the spaceship developed propulsion problems and was deemed unfit to fly them back, instead returning empty.
They were subsequently reassigned to Nasa’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which arrived at the ISS in September 2024 with a reduced crew of two – rather than the usual four – to accommodate the pair, who had become widely referred to as the “stranded” astronauts.
Early on March 16, a relief team called Crew-10 docked at the station, paving the way for the Crew-9 team to depart.
Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams’ 286-day stay exceeds the usual six-month ISS rotation but ranks only sixth among US records for single-mission duration.
The astronauts descending in the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on March 18.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Mr Frank Rubio holds the top spot at 371 days in 2023, while the world record remains with Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437 consecutive days aboard the Mir station.
That makes the pair’s nine months in space “par for the course” in terms of health risks, according to Ms Rihana Bokhari from the Centre for Space Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
Challenges such as muscle and bone loss, fluid shifts that can lead to kidney stones and vision issues, and the readjustment of balance upon returning to a gravity environment are well understood and effectively managed.
Still, the unexpected nature of the pair’s extended stay – away from their families and initially without enough packed supplies – has drawn public interest and sympathy.
Dr Joseph Keebler, a psychologist at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told AFP: “If you found out you went to work today and were going to be stuck in your office for the next nine months, you might have a panic attack.
“These individuals have shown unbelievable resilience.”
Political flashpoint
Their unexpected stint also became a political lightning rod, with President Trump and his close adviser, billionaire Elon Musk – who leads SpaceX – repeatedly suggesting that former president Joe Biden abandoned the astronauts and refused an earlier rescue plan.
Such accusations have prompted an outcry in the space community, especially as Mr Musk offered no specifics and Nasa’s plan for the astronauts’ return has remained largely unchanged since their Crew-9 reassignment.
Mr Trump has also drawn attention for his bizarre remarks, referring to Ms Williams, a former navy captain who holds the US record for the second-longest cumulative time in space, as “the woman with the wild hair” and speculating about the personal dynamic between the two.
“They’ve been left up there – I hope they like each other, maybe they love each other, I don’t know,” he said during a recent White House press conference. AFP
