NASA's stranded astronauts are finally on the way home after a brutal nine months in space.
After months of tense anticipation, Sunita Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore Undocked of the International Space Station (ISS) at 1.05 hours et (5.05 hours GMT) on a vessel made by Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The couple will now make the descent from 17 hours back to Earth and, if everything goes according to plan, at around 6 p.m. and for about 6 p.m. (10 p.m. GMT).
NASA live the extraordinary mission and documented the moment that the duo was secured in the space trail and the hatch door was closed – which took place two hours prior to the departure.
Wilmore was tied at the far left of the hatch with Williams secured on the far right, both blowing pillows on the screen as the reality in the sense that they finally returned home.
There was a slight accident when Takuya Onishi, one of the four new astronauts who replaced Williams and Wilmore, reported that they found dots of dust on the Liège seals between the vessel and the space station.
Those speckles had to be completely removed – which Onishi did – before taking off to ensure that the seal remained airtight.
Furthermore, all systems were reported smoothly and the space suits were passed on to the required leak test, with prediction clear skies and 'unspoiled weather' prior to Splashdown on Tuesday.
Wilmore was tied at the far left of the Liège with Williams secure on the far right
They both blow kisses on the screen while the reality in that they finally returned home
Shown: SpaceX Dragon Capsule 'Freedom' moored at the international space station prior to take off
Williams and Wilmore return to the earth in the crew-9 Dragon Capsule of SpaceX, which was already moored on the ISS. The couple are accompanied by NASA's Nick Hague and the Russian S Aleksandr Gorbunov, who flew to the Space Station in the Crew-9 Dragon in September
The duo is probably unable to walk alone and will almost certainly be stretched to the hospital, making dramatic scenes.
Williams and Wilmore Only had to spend eight days in the floating laboratory when they launched Boeing Boeing on 5 June on board the spacecraft.
But countless technical problems with their ship, including Thrust -Mislukings and Helium leaks, drove Nasa to send Starliner home without his crew in September.
Their unexpected long space mission became a political flash point after comments from President Donald Trump and Musk, both of whom said that the Biden administration has' left 'the Starliner -Manning' in the space 'in the neighborhood' 'left'.
During a performance on the podcast of Joe Rogan, Musk claimed that he offered to bring the few months ago home, but the Biden administration shot it down because the Trump would have “goodly” put it out in the presidential race against Kamala Harris.
Williams and Wilmore are back to the earth in SpaceX's Crew-9 Dragon Capsule, which was moored at the ISS at the end of last week.
The couple are accompanied by Nasa's Nick Hague and the Russian Aleksandr Gorbunov, who flew to the space station in the Crew-9 Dragon in September.
Four new astronauts took their place after arrival at the weekend. The incoming crew-10 consists of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan's Takuya Onishi, and Russia's Kirill Pesko.
Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams were originally planned for an eight -day mission, but were forced to remain after technical problems the Boeing's Starliner who brought them to the ISS
The duo was cheerful when they prepared to say goodbye to the space station
Usually a departing ISS crew shares the space station with the incoming crew for about five days in what is known as a 'transfer period'.
This allows them to inform the new crew of the activities of the space station and ensures a smooth transition between teams.
But this time, NASA decided to shorten the transfer period to just two days to save food on the ISS and to cancel more for the Starliner crew in case it interferes again with their intended return date.
When they splash on Tuesday, the Brail duo is placed on stretchers and immediately taken for medical evaluations.
NASA will give a press conference at 7.30 pm (11.30 pm GMT) and it is very unlikely that the astronauts will be present.
Dr. Vinay Gupta, a pulmonologist and veteran in the Air Force, told DailyMail.com that the crew will start their rehabilitation program on the same day that they return to Earth, with the first phase focused on walking, flexibility and muscle reinforcement.
The astronauts may need rehabilitation for up to six weeks to regain their strength, including guided exercises and a nutrition plan, he added.
The duo is praised for their work under less than ideal conditions in the space station.
They completed 4,500 jobs while they were stranded for 286 days.
Rob Navias, from the NASA Communications Department, said: “For the statistical freaks there are, we can tell you that Williams and Wilmore … they will come home with 286 days in space … Just to bring it into context, not the longest in space history.”
“It's not a record -breaking mission.”
NASA was raised the return mission two weeks later after President Trump had told Musk to 'go' Williams and Wilmore ', and said that Biden had' left 'them in space.
There was a slight accident when Takuya Onishi, one of the four new astronauts that Williams and Wilmore replaced, reported that she found dots of dust on the Liège off -ships between the vessel and the space station
Before the president's request, the astronauts did not return until March 26.
Musk claimed that the Biden administration shot its earlier offer to collect the astronauts because of his ties with Trump.
The founder of the billionaire SpaceX supported Trump during the presidential race of 2024, donated $ 288 million to his campaign and appeared on various Maga Rallies
NASA officials did not tackle these claims directly, but during a press conference earlier this month, one of the senior managers brought slightly on the situation.
Ken Bowersox, associated manager of the Mission Directorate of the Bureau, said that SpaceX is working with NASA to develop a back -up return plan for the Starliner mission since last July.
“The SpaceX people helped us with many options for how we would bring Butch and Suni home on Dragon in an unforeseen event,” said Bowersox.
He also admitted that there were 'conversations' in the White House to postpone the return for political reasons, but he was not part of the discussions.
The mission was only intended to last eight days, but the Boeing Starliner capsule that delivered them to the ISS came across so many problems that NASA was that it was empty, leaving the test pilots behind to wait for a SpaceX lift.
The incoming crew-10 consists of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan's Takuya Onishi and the Russian Kirill Pesko
The new crew of the SpaceX capsule will spend the next six months at the space station, which will be considered the normal Stint.
Their arrival comes after several setbacks for the auxiliary mission, the most recent of which was canceled on Wednesday at the eleventh hour, due to a problem with the Hydraulic System with the Falcon 9 Rocket.
The Dragon Capsule affiliated with the ISS just after 12:04 am et after a trip of more than 28 hours.
