Posted on 03/18/2025 2:13:38 AM PDT by Morgana
NASA's stranded astronauts are finally on their way home after a brutal nine months in space.
After months of tense anticipation, Sunita Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 1.05am ET (5.05am GMT) on the Dragon spacecraft made by Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The pair, along with NASA's Nick Hague and Russia's Aleksandr Gorbunov, will now make the 17 hour descent back to Earth and, if all goes according to plan, should splash down off the coast of Florida at 5.57pm ET (9.57pm GMT).
'Crew nine is going home,' Hague, the commander of departing Crew Dragon, said from the spacecraft moments after they began their journey.
'On behalf of crew nine, it was a privilege to call space home... to live and work... in cooperation for the benefit of humanity. To our colleagues and dear friends who remain on the station, we know the station is in great hands. We're excited to see what you guys are going to accomplish and we'll be waiting for ya [sic].'
NASA livestreamed the extraordinary mission, documenting every key development from the moment the duo were secured in the spacecraft and the hatch door was closed - which took place two hours prior to departure.
Wilmore was strapped in on the far left of the hatch with Williams secured on the far right, both blowing kisses at the screen as the reality set in that they were finally returning home.
There was a slight mishap as Takuya Onishi, one of four new astronauts replacing Williams and Wilmore, reported finding specks of dust on the hatch seals between the craft and the space station before takeoff.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I have never understood this story. Was NASA too incompetent to save them?
It’s been reported Biden refused assistance from Elon’s SpaceX because of Elon’s support of Trump and his purchasing X to make it much more free speech friendly.
I give up.
What’s “brutal” about nine months on the ISS?
There are millions who would sell their souls for a chance to live in space for that long.
Scott Kelly, Mark’s brother, did 340 days straight, only bettered by Mark Vande Hai at 341 days. That’s 11 months and some change.
As risks go in the space flight biz getting stuck on humanity’s most impressive habitable structure is rather low on the scale.
There were a total of 7 astronauts aboard the ISS, before Dragon Endurance arrived with 4 replacement astronauts.
And there are now 7 astronauts aboard the ISS.
The two “stranded astronauts” were not alone.
I don’t think NASA does any actual flights anymore. Private firms like Space-x do all the lifting. Or we hitch rides with the Russians.
I've got a question - they were supposed to be there for four day? How did they get eight months worth of food? Just wondering...
UberEats.
Cargo resupply flights still continued from both SpaceX and Roscosmos.
Boeing was supposed to be a second vendor for the reusable manned capsule but their design failed, leaving our 2 erstwhile astronauts updating their calendars.
CC
I don’t think NASA flies anymore. It’s all outsourced.
Ah. I figure if they weren’t claustrophobic when they went up there, they are now.
That Pizza Hut Delivery is fantastic
Plus the frozen doctors in the medical compartment - Okay, who remembers Mad Magazine and “201 Minutes of Space Idiocy”
I’ll have to search for the artificial food, artificial air and artificial artificial flowers.....
He was delicious to the end!
Preoccupied with it's task of muslim outreach.
They’re not rescued yet, they have to get home. Let’s hope the mission succeeds without incident. However, I would bet there’re a lot of negative waves out there hoping Trump/Musk fail.
9 months...I wonder if Butch ever got lost in the Suni Triangle.
It's not exactly like going to the corner store.
Please pray and let everything else rest for now.
Be Wise!!
The Boeing spacecraft that took them there is unsafe. It can’t be used
?? Where did you get that info??
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