This return has been months in the making. As our Bob Hoge explained earlier on Tuesday, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have spent nine months in space, essentially stranded aboard the International Space Station, awaiting their chance to come home. What was supposed to be a 10-day jaunt has now dragged on for months after the Boeing Starliner that was originally set to bring them back experienced thruster issues that necessitated scrapping the initial plan. 

Now, Williams and Wilmore are back on terra firma (more or less — off the coast of Florida, at least) compliments of Elon Musk's SpaceX. After undocking from the ISS early Tuesday morning, the Dragon spacecraft, with four Crew 9 members aboard (including Williams and Wilmore, as well as Commander Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov), began its journey back, with an expected return time of 5:57 p.m. Eastern. 

SpaceX Dragon undocks
pic.twitter.com/PI8xd80AIQ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 18, 2025

#Crew9 will be difficult to spot in the daytime as it reenters Earth's atmosphere, but if you want to keep an eye out for @SpaceX's Dragon as it heads home today, we have the map for you. pic.twitter.com/dGmSWXbOyv

— NASA (@NASA) March 18, 2025

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Those anxious to see Crew 9's return were able to watch it live. 

SpaceX announced the jettisoning of Dragon's trunk and completion of the deorbit burn. We got to watch the Drogue parachutes deploy, followed by the main chute deployment. 

Drogue and main parachutes have deployed pic.twitter.com/X0wiXqFaPt

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 18, 2025

And, just as planned, Crew 9 and the Dragon capsule splashed down in the Gulf of America at 5:57 p.m. Eastern. Welcome home to them!

Splashdown of Dragon confirmed – welcome back to Earth, Nick, Suni, Butch, and Aleks! pic.twitter.com/M4RZ6UYsQ2

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 18, 2025

While Musk has his SpaceX sights set on Mars and 2026, the safe return of two stranded astronauts who've been away from home now since June of 2024 is unquestionably a big win — for the astronauts themselves, for SpaceX, and for the future of space flight. 

Editor's Note: This article was updated post-publication for clarity. 

Elon Musk and DOGE are bringing much-needed accountability to our out-of-control bureaucracy as they take a chainsaw to rampant waste, fraud, and abuse.

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