NASA’s Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore come home after 9 months in space; watch splashdown

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore returned to Earth on Wednesday after an eight-day mission to the International Space Station turned into nine months stay.

SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down off the coast of Florida at 2127 UTC (2:57 am IST). Teams on board SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew- astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore and Nick Hague, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

Minutes later, the astronauts were seen waving and smiling as they were taken away for routine medical checks.

"We are thrilled to have Suni, Butch, Nick, and Aleksandr home after their months-long mission conducting vital science, technology demonstrations, and maintenance aboard the International Space Station. Per President Trump’s direction, NASA and SpaceX worked diligently to pull the schedule a month earlier," said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro.

SpaceX Dragon and Crew-9 return to Earth; watch video

Williams and Wilmore were expected to be in space for 8 days after launching on Boeing's Starliner crew capsule on June 5. However, Starliner being sent to bring them back faced several issues on the way to the space station so NASA decided to postpone their return. Their return was scheduled for February via SpaceX spacecraft but issues with the capsule added another few weeks of delay.

During their mission, Williams and Wilmore travelled 121,347,491 miles, spent 286 days in space and completed 4,576 orbits around Earth.

Williams, 59, an ex-US Navy captain, was born on September 19, 1965, in Ohio to a Gujarati father Deepak Pandya and a Slovenian mother Ursuline Bonnie Pandya.

On her latest mission, Williams created a world record for the most time spent spacewalking by a woman.

In his letter dated March 1, PM Modi said, "1.4 billion Indians have always taken great pride in your accomplishments. Recent developments have yet again showcased your inspirational fortitude and perseverance."

Calling Williams "one of its most illustrious daughters", he invited her to India and prayed for her good health.