Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally back on solid ground.
The NASA astronauts who months ago flew to space aboard Boeing’s failed Starliner spacecraft landed Tuesday evening off the coast of Florida on a SpaceX Dragon capsule. The vehicle was the same one selected for their return voyage months ago when two astronauts of a SpaceX mission known as Crew-9 reached the International Space Station.
The Crew-9 team, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, were also on board the Dragon Freedom when it made a dramatic parachute-assisted splashdown following a lengthy 17-hour spaceflight.
For Wilmore and Williams, the water landing brought to an end an unexpected nine-month mission to orbit when they piloted the Boeing Starliner for its maiden crewed voyage. The vehicle, which encountered technical issues when it reached the orbital laboratory, returned in September to Earth without them.
Plenty of people were tuned in to livestreams of the SpaceX Dragon when it neared Earth to prepare for landing. But if you missed Wilmore and Williams’ return to Earth, here are photos of the Dragon’s landing, followed by the four spacefarers exiting the craft.
See photos of SpaceX Dragon landing off Florida coast
The Crew Dragon capsule containing Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams and two other astronauts floats after their splashdown following their return to earth from the International Space Station off the coast of Florida on Wednesday in a still image from video.
The Crew Dragon capsule containing Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams and two other astronauts floats after their splashdown following their return to earth from the International Space Station off the coast of Florid on March 18, 2025 in a still image from video.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft floats off the coast of Florida as support teams work to recover the vehicle. NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov returned on the capsule Tuesday evening after departing the International Space Station.
Support teams work around a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft shortly after it landed with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
A SpaceX support team member is seen airborne while working to lift the SpaceX Dragon capsule onto a recovery vehicle following its landing off the coast of Florida.
See photos of Crew-9, Starliner astronauts unboarding
From left to right, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, astronaut Nick Hague and astronaut Suni Williams are seen inside a SpaceX Dragon after the spacecraft was hoisted onto a recovery ship after landing Tuesday evening in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida.
NASA astronaut Suni Williams is helped out of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft following a return to Earth after a nine-month stay at the International Space Station. She and NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore crewed the failed Boeing Starliner in June.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon Freedom capsule onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN after he, NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov returned Tuesday from the International Space Station.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov is helped out of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Starliner astronauts return to Earth: See photos of landing, unboarding
NASA astronauts, SpaceX Dragon, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Starliner, Florida
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