The journey to 'rescue' two astronauts stuck for 9 months on the ISS

The return journey of two American astronauts to Earth on March 18 attracted the attention of the whole world not only because of the unusually long mission but also because of the dramatic developments that prevented them from returning home.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore (left) and Suni Williams have been on the ISS for 9 months - Photo: AFP

On the morning of March 18 (US time), two astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) departed from the International Space Station (ISS) to return to Earth, ending a nine-month mission due to a problem with the Boeing Starliner.

They, along with two other colleagues, American Nick Hague and Russian Aleksandr Gorbunov, were finally able to return on SpaceX's Dragon capsule.

9 days become 9 months

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, two former US Navy pilots, flew to the orbiting laboratory in June 2024, on the first manned test flight of the Boeing Starliner, which is expected to last only nine days.

However, the ship suffered a propulsion system failure and was deemed unsafe to return them, forcing it to return to Earth unmanned.

Since then, their story has attracted attention in the US and the world .

Video of 2 astronauts stuck for 9 months on the International Space Station ISS returning to Earth

"We didn't feel abandoned or stranded," astronaut Butch Wilmore told CNN of their unusually long mission. In fact, during that time, the astronauts still conducted research and performed spacewalks. Williams set a new record for total spacewalk time by a female astronaut.

Medically, this is "normal," according to Dr. Rihana Bokhari of the Center for Space Medicine at Baylor University, because issues like muscle and bone loss, changes in body fluids, and re-adaptation to gravity are all well understood and controlled.

However, their being stuck in a space station more than 400km above the ground, far from their families and initially without enough supplies, for a long time received public sympathy.

“If you went to work and suddenly had to stay in the office for the next nine months, you would probably panic. These people have shown extraordinary resilience,” commented Joseph Keebler, a psychologist at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

The journey to rescue two astronauts

The Dragon spacecraft landed in the waters off the coast of Florida on the morning of March 19 (Vietnam time) - Photo: REUTERS

By September 2024, NASA had teamed up with billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch the Dragon spacecraft with a crew of two, instead of the usual four, to save seats for the two stranded crew members. Over the weekend, the Crew-10 rescue team successfully docked with the ISS and they exchanged warm hugs.

They left the space station at 5:05 am on March 18 (GMT) and returned the same day after a 17-hour journey. On the morning of March 19 (Vietnam time), the Dragon spacecraft deployed its parachute off the coast of Florida. After landing in the sea, the two astronauts, Wilmore and Williams, breathed Earth's air for the first time in months and were picked up by a rescue ship, according to AFP.

The incident, which occurred during the US presidential election, has also been turned into a political tool by Mr Trump and Mr Musk, repeatedly suggesting former President Joe Biden abandoned the astronauts and rejected an earlier rescue plan.

"They shamefully forgot about the astronauts, because they considered it a very embarrassing event for them," Mr. Trump wrote on the Truth Social network earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Mr. Musk said SpaceX could have brought Williams and Wilmore home months ago, but their request was rejected by the White House for "political reasons." However, Mr. Musk did not elaborate.

It's unclear why such a deal would be discussed with the White House — which typically doesn't interfere in NASA crew missions or space station personnel matters.

A senior NASA official under Biden told CNN that SpaceX never made such an offer to the agency's leadership, and if it had, they wouldn't have considered it because it would have required a separate mission that would have cost an additional $100 million.

The space science community also does not believe Mr. Musk's accusations. NASA insists that it will continue to maintain the astronaut rotation plan, meaning that Mr. and Mrs. Wilmore and Mrs. Williams can only return when there is a replacement crew, to maintain enough American personnel on the ISS.

The ISS is currently operated by the United States along with Russia, Japan, Canada and countries of the European Space Agency.

Rescue ship "Megan" next to the Dragon capsule floating on the sea - Photo: NASA

The "Megan" ship proceeded to retrieve the Dragon ship with 4 astronauts on board - Photo: REUTERS

Rescue team helps astronaut Butch Wilmore get out - Photo: NASA

Astronaut Suni Williams waves as she is taken out of the capsule - Photo: NASA

Astronaut Butch Wilmore is helped out - Photo: NASA

Not a record

Although the mission of astronauts Wilmore and Williams exceeded the usual six-month rotation on the ISS, it ranked sixth among US records for the duration of a single mission.

Previously, astronaut Frank Rubio spent 371 days on the ISS in 2023. Meanwhile, the world record belongs to Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov - who spent 437 consecutive days on the Mir station in 1994.

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