NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, who spent nine months on the International Space Station due to problems with the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, have returned to Earth. They splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico in a SpaceX Dragon capsule after a 17-hour return trip, TechCrunch reports.
Williams and Wilmore are scheduled to launch to the ISS in June 2024 in a mission that was key to Boeing's efforts to compete with SpaceX, which has been awarded a contract by NASA to fly astronauts to the ISS as part of plans for future deep space missions.
The astronauts were scheduled to return to Earth after a brief stay on the ISS, but the Starliner spacecraft experienced helium leaks and engine problems, delaying the return. After several weeks of testing, the spacecraft was returned to Earth without the astronauts.
NASA then began working with SpaceX to return Williams and Wilmore. After lengthy negotiations, it was decided to postpone the return until early 2025. During this time, the astronauts continued to work on the station, supporting the Expedition 71/72 crew.
Meanwhile, the issue of astronaut return has become political in the past few months after Elon Musk said he had offered former US President Joe Biden to return Williams and Wilmore earlier, but the president reportedly refused. The billionaire and SpaceX CEO has not provided any evidence of such offers, and the SpaceX Crew-9 spacecraft, which returned the astronauts, has been docked to the ISS since September.
A former NASA administrator and Biden deputy administrator said the space agency was unaware of any proposal from Elon Musk. CNN also reported on Tuesday that senior White House officials said they were also unaware of any proposal. In addition, the former Expedition 70 commander called Musk a liar, prompting a rebuke from the billionaire.