Astronauts Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, who return to the ground on a ship on SpaceX

The two American astronauts who were in International Space Station For nine months after their wrong Boeing Starliner capsule returned Without them, they finally head home.

NASA Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams astronauts – as well as NASA’s fellow NASA Nick Hag and Roskosmos Cosmonau Alexander Gorbunov – are ready to scatter on the ground around 5:57 pm scheduleS

Wilmore and Williams left Earth in June on a test flight, which was originally intended to last about nine days.

But their stay was extended after pusher On the Boeing’s Starliner “Calypso” capsule failed During docking, raising concerns about the ship’s ability to carry them at home. In the end, NASA sent the capsule empty after it was moored for about three months at the space station, saying that it wanted to “understand the main causes” of the problems of the spacecraft.

NASA also announced that Wilmore and Williams, who are both veterans astronauts and Navy tests, will return to a Spacex Dragon spacecraft Instead. The agency corrects its rotation to astronauts as a result, removing two SPACEX CREW-9 mission, who returns to Earth this week to make room for Wilmore and Williams.

This capsule, bearing the two CREW-9 souls, arrived at ISS back in September. The crews rotate at the ISS, which means that each group of astronauts works until the next arrival of the space station arrives when a ceremonial “show” appears.

NASA had originally planned SPACEX’s crew mission-10 -What was to arrive before crew members-9 could return-to start in February, but he slowed down for about a month.

The rocket bearing the four new crew members launched Friday night and his capsule docks at the space station about 29 hours later.

The Starliner Crew flight test had to check the final Boeing field and provide a key asset for NASA. The agency hoped to fulfill its dream of having two competing companies – Boeing and Elon MuskSpaceX – Flying alternating missions to the ISS.

Instead, it is not clear what Boeing’s future space plans are. The company has lost more than $ 2 billion On your space spacecraft Starliner.

Wilmore and Williams’ journey is entangled in politics after president Donald Trump take office. Trump and Musk, who became a close adviser to the president, called on the crew-10 and said without evidence That the two astronauts were “stuck” at the space station and that the Biden administration kept them there for political reasons. NASA had delayed Starting the crew-10 in December to allow more time to process a new Dragon capsule, but decided to use a reusable capsule to reduce waiting time.

NASA’s plans to return the two astronauts remained consistent as the agency declared them in August.

During their extended stay, Wilmore and Williams became part of normal rotation, conducting scientific experiments and routine support, like any other astronaut of rotation at the ISS. Williams also held a SpacewalkS

Williams repeatedly says that the couple does not feel “abandoned” by the ISS, but that he looks forward to returning home to see her family and both dogs.

“It was a train for them, probably a little more than for us,” she told reporters earlier this month.