Four parachutes deployed as SpaceX’s Dragon capsule made its dramatic descent, splashing down in the Atlantic off Florida. The return of Sunita Williams and Crew-9 after nine months in space was met with cheers in NASA’s control room and lakhs tuning in to the YouTube live stream.
Watch the moment the capsule landed safely at 5:57 p.m. ET after a fiery re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere.
“What a ride! I see a capsule full of friends here,” American astronaut Nick Hague said as communications were restored post-blackout.
A pod of dolphins surrounded the capsule, charred from 2,000°C re-entry temperatures, as recovery teams secured safety harnesses to hoist it onto a recovery vessel.
Williams and Wilmore will now begin a 45-day rehabilitation program in Houston after spending 286 days in space—far longer than their planned short test mission.
The delay? A failed Boeing Starliner spacecraft forced them into an extended stay aboard the ISS, turning their mission into an international headline and a point of political debate.
Trump’s remarks spark backlash: The former president referred to Williams as “the woman with the wild hair” and speculated on her relationship with Wilmore, saying, “I hope they like each other, maybe they love each other, I don’t know.”
The physical toll: After months in space, the astronauts now face muscle loss, vision issues, and balance difficulties as they readjust to life on Earth.
What’s next? NASA will conduct health assessments before the astronauts reunite with family and return to their daily lives. For now, the journey home is complete.