Cintia A. , Lebledparle.com
Their SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, Freedom, landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida on March 18, 2025, following a 17-hour journey from the ISS. Williams and Wilmore initially launched on June 5, 2024, aboard Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner for the spacecraft’s first crewed test flight. The flight, part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, was meant to check Starliner’s performance in transporting astronauts to and from the ISS. Soon after launch, the spacecraft experienced technical problems like helium leaks and malfunctioning thrusters.
When Starliner docked at the ISS on June 6, four of the 28 thrusters failed, delaying docking. Though engineers were able to restore some function, NASA ultimately concluded that the spacecraft was too unsafe for an occupied return flight. The choice marooned Williams and Wilmore in orbit long past their planned stay.
Life aboard the ISS
The astronauts continued to make contributions to ISS operations during their prolonged mission. They engaged in scientific experiments, maintenance, and spacewalks and ate normally because there were cargo air ships that resupplied them. Williams, a veteran astronaut, continued to make her mark by notching a total of 62 space walking hours in her career, a record for the most spacewalk time by a female space traveler. It is equally reported that they had a festive christmas dinner comprising smoked oysters, crab, duck foie gras, cranberry sauce, Atlantic lobster and smoked salmon, according to a report by The Times newspaper. They also kept in touch with their family members reassuring them not to worry about their safety.
Despite the difficulties of being in space, the extended mission provided valuable insights on long-duration spaceflight, an important consideration for future deep-space missions, including NASA’s Artemis program to take humans back to the Moon and eventually send humans to Mars.
How were they brought home
For its homeward journey, NASA transported the astronauts in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. The Freedom capsule undocked from the ISS on March 18 at 1:05 a.m. The crew braved the extreme conditions of atmospheric re-entry before landing safely in a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. Recovery teams secured the capsule at once and assisted the astronauts as they emerged after their extended stay in microgravity.
Now that they are back on Earth, Williams and Wilmore will undergo standard post-mission medical examinations and be reunited with their families. Their unplanned nine-month escapade has provided useful information on spacecraft reliability, astronaut endurance, and contingency planning for future missions.
As NASA moves forward in creating commercial partnerships for low-Earth orbit missions, the knowledge from this mission will shape the future of spaceflight, making transportation for astronauts safer and more reliable.
