yesterday March 18, 2025 was a big damn deal. Four astronauts splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, ending months of orbiting the planet, and I’m still pumped about it. The Crew-9 team Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, and Aleksandr Gorbunov hit the water off Tallahassee, Florida, at 5:57 p.m. EDT, and I swear I was holding my breath watching that SpaceX feed. These guys and gals have been up there since last fall, and for two of them, it’s been way longer than anyone figured. They’re home now, safe and sound, and I’ve got to unpack this whole crazy story for you because it’s one hell of a ride.
How They Got Stuck Up There
This all kicked off with a curveball last year. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched on June 5, 2024, from Cape Canaveral in Boeing’s Starliner new spaceship, big hopes. It was supposed to be a quick test run eight days at the International Space Station (ISS), make sure the thing flies right, then head home. But then the Starliner started leaking helium, its thrusters crapped out, and NASA was like, “Yeah, no way we’re putting you back in that.” So, in September, they sent it back to Earth empty landed it in New Mexico like some abandoned toy and Butch and Suni were left hanging out in space. What was supposed to be a week turned into nine and a half months. Nuts, right?
Then comes Crew-9. Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov blasted off on September 28, 2024, in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom. Normally, these missions pack four people, but this time, they left two seats open basically a ride home for Butch and Suni whenever the timing lined up. The Dragon docked at the ISS the next day, and boom, the four of them Nick, Aleksandr, Butch, and Suni became Crew-9. They’ve been up there ever since, working their asses off, until yesterday when they finally got the green light to come back.
The Big Drop
So here’s how it went down. On March 17, they piled into the Dragon Freedom, buckled up, and waved bye to the ISS crew staying behind. They undocked at 1:05 a.m. EDT on the 18th way too early for me, but I stayed up anyway. Watching that capsule peel away from the station on NASA’s stream was unreal just this little speck drifting off into the dark. Nick Hague, the guy in charge, said something over the radio about how it’d been an honor to live up there. You could hear he meant it 171 days for him, 286 for Butch and Suni. That’s a long stretch away from dirt and air.
The trip back took 17 hours, and it wasn’t exactly a joyride. Around 5:30 p.m. EDT, they hit the deorbit burn fired those thrusters to drop out of orbit and then it was reentry time. That’s the part that gets me every time the capsule turns into this glowing fireball, slamming into the atmosphere at 17,500 miles an hour. Heat shield’s glowing, the whole thing’s shaking, and they’re pulling serious G’s. But the Dragon’s tough as nails. The parachutes popped out right on schedule, slowing them down, and at 5:57 p.m., splash they hit the water. SpaceX’s recovery ship, Megan, was on it quick, scooping them up in like half an hour. Nick called out, “Splashdown! Good mains release,” and you could tell they were jazzed to be back.
Who These Folks Are
Let’s talk about this crew, because they’re something else. Nick Hague’s the boss U.S. Space Force colonel, first active-duty Space Force guy to fly. He’s racked up 374 days in space over two missions, and he’s got that steady-hand thing going. Aleksandr Gorbunov, the Russian cosmonaut, was the rookie first flight, 171 days, 72 million miles, 2,736 orbits. Not a bad start, huh? Then you’ve got Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the Starliner survivors. Butch, ex-Navy pilot, has 464 days in space across three trips. Suni’s a total rockstar 608 days over three missions, plus 62 hours spacewalking, more than any woman ever. They were supposed to be up there eight days, and they stuck it out for 286. That’s grit.
They looked beat but happy coming out. Butch was all smiles, soaking in the breeze after months of canned air. Suni was cracking jokes with the recovery team classic Suni. They’ve got some rehab ahead zero-G for that long messes with your legs and bones but they’re tough as hell. They’ll bounce back quick, I’d bet money on it.
What They Pulled Off
So what were they doing up there all that time? A ton. Crew-9 logged over 900 hours on 150+ experiments crazy stuff. Suni and Butch did spacewalks, swapping out hardware on the station’s truss and scraping samples off the outside to see if bugs can live in space. They messed with growing algae for oxygen think Mars mission vibes. Nick worked on this wooden satellite thing yeah, wood in space while Aleksandr tested a suit that pulls fluid down from your head to stop your eyes from getting wonky in microgravity. They even took millions of pics of Earth floods, fires, cities sprawling out. It’s wild how much they cram in.
For Butch and Suni, it was a weird gig they weren’t even supposed to be Crew-9. After the Starliner flopped, they joined Expedition 71/72, and Suni ended up running the ISS for a bit. They rolled with it, got shit done, and made it look smooth. That’s astronaut life plans go out the window, and you adapt.
The Soap Opera Stuff
Now, this story’s got some juice behind it. The whole “stranded astronauts” thing turned into a circus lately. Trump and Elon Musk jumped in, saying Butch and Suni were left up there by Biden’s people and SpaceX had to save the day. Trump’s out there claiming he told Elon, “Go get ‘em,” and Musk’s like, “I offered a rescue last year, but NASA said no.” It’s a good headline two Americans stuck in space, billionaire swoops in but NASA’s been all, “Chill, they weren’t stranded.” They had the Crew-9 Dragon as their ride since September, and the plan was to bring them home once Crew-10 took over. Crew-10 launched last Friday Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi, Kirill Peskov docked Sunday, and that freed up Crew-9 to head back.
I get why it got hyped nine months is forever, and the Starliner screw-up didn’t help. But NASA swears it wasn’t a crisis just a long mission tweak to keep the ISS humming. Still, you wonder what if Musk did send an extra Dragon? Would they be home by Christmas? Fun to think about, even if it’s probably bunk.
Why It Hits
This isn’t just some space geek thing it’s bigger. Crew-9 coming home wraps a chapter for NASA’s Commercial Crew gig. SpaceX nailed their ninth rotation, showing they’ve got this down pat. Boeing’s Starliner? Still a headache back on Earth, but not ready for people yet. Up on the ISS, Crew-10’s settling in, and a Soyuz swap’s coming in April. It’s this nonstop relay, keeping that station alive 250 miles up.For me, it’s personal too. Space grabs you it’s gutsy, messy, human. JFK’s assassination shook trust way back when, and this Crew-9 mess had a whiff of that people wondering if the system’s hiding something. Probably not, but that doubt’s there. These four pulling through? It’s a win you can feel.What’s Next?
Today, March 19, 2025, they’re in Houston at NASA’s Johnson Space Center docs checking them out, families hugging them tight. The Dragon Freedom’s off to Florida for a tune-up before its next run. On the ISS, Crew-10’s getting comfy, and a Russian Progress ship just nudged the orbit up for that April Soyuz handoff. Space keeps moving, no breaks.
How They Got Stuck Up There
This all kicked off with a curveball last year. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched on June 5, 2024, from Cape Canaveral in Boeing’s Starliner new spaceship, big hopes. It was supposed to be a quick test run eight days at the International Space Station (ISS), make sure the thing flies right, then head home. But then the Starliner started leaking helium, its thrusters crapped out, and NASA was like, “Yeah, no way we’re putting you back in that.” So, in September, they sent it back to Earth empty landed it in New Mexico like some abandoned toy and Butch and Suni were left hanging out in space. What was supposed to be a week turned into nine and a half months. Nuts, right?
Then comes Crew-9. Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov blasted off on September 28, 2024, in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom. Normally, these missions pack four people, but this time, they left two seats open basically a ride home for Butch and Suni whenever the timing lined up. The Dragon docked at the ISS the next day, and boom, the four of them Nick, Aleksandr, Butch, and Suni became Crew-9. They’ve been up there ever since, working their asses off, until yesterday when they finally got the green light to come back.
The Big Drop
So here’s how it went down. On March 17, they piled into the Dragon Freedom, buckled up, and waved bye to the ISS crew staying behind. They undocked at 1:05 a.m. EDT on the 18th way too early for me, but I stayed up anyway. Watching that capsule peel away from the station on NASA’s stream was unreal just this little speck drifting off into the dark. Nick Hague, the guy in charge, said something over the radio about how it’d been an honor to live up there. You could hear he meant it 171 days for him, 286 for Butch and Suni. That’s a long stretch away from dirt and air.
The trip back took 17 hours, and it wasn’t exactly a joyride. Around 5:30 p.m. EDT, they hit the deorbit burn fired those thrusters to drop out of orbit and then it was reentry time. That’s the part that gets me every time the capsule turns into this glowing fireball, slamming into the atmosphere at 17,500 miles an hour. Heat shield’s glowing, the whole thing’s shaking, and they’re pulling serious G’s. But the Dragon’s tough as nails. The parachutes popped out right on schedule, slowing them down, and at 5:57 p.m., splash they hit the water. SpaceX’s recovery ship, Megan, was on it quick, scooping them up in like half an hour. Nick called out, “Splashdown! Good mains release,” and you could tell they were jazzed to be back.
Who These Folks Are
Let’s talk about this crew, because they’re something else. Nick Hague’s the boss U.S. Space Force colonel, first active-duty Space Force guy to fly. He’s racked up 374 days in space over two missions, and he’s got that steady-hand thing going. Aleksandr Gorbunov, the Russian cosmonaut, was the rookie first flight, 171 days, 72 million miles, 2,736 orbits. Not a bad start, huh? Then you’ve got Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the Starliner survivors. Butch, ex-Navy pilot, has 464 days in space across three trips. Suni’s a total rockstar 608 days over three missions, plus 62 hours spacewalking, more than any woman ever. They were supposed to be up there eight days, and they stuck it out for 286. That’s grit.
They looked beat but happy coming out. Butch was all smiles, soaking in the breeze after months of canned air. Suni was cracking jokes with the recovery team classic Suni. They’ve got some rehab ahead zero-G for that long messes with your legs and bones but they’re tough as hell. They’ll bounce back quick, I’d bet money on it.
What They Pulled Off
So what were they doing up there all that time? A ton. Crew-9 logged over 900 hours on 150+ experiments crazy stuff. Suni and Butch did spacewalks, swapping out hardware on the station’s truss and scraping samples off the outside to see if bugs can live in space. They messed with growing algae for oxygen think Mars mission vibes. Nick worked on this wooden satellite thing yeah, wood in space while Aleksandr tested a suit that pulls fluid down from your head to stop your eyes from getting wonky in microgravity. They even took millions of pics of Earth floods, fires, cities sprawling out. It’s wild how much they cram in.
For Butch and Suni, it was a weird gig they weren’t even supposed to be Crew-9. After the Starliner flopped, they joined Expedition 71/72, and Suni ended up running the ISS for a bit. They rolled with it, got shit done, and made it look smooth. That’s astronaut life plans go out the window, and you adapt.
The Soap Opera Stuff
Now, this story’s got some juice behind it. The whole “stranded astronauts” thing turned into a circus lately. Trump and Elon Musk jumped in, saying Butch and Suni were left up there by Biden’s people and SpaceX had to save the day. Trump’s out there claiming he told Elon, “Go get ‘em,” and Musk’s like, “I offered a rescue last year, but NASA said no.” It’s a good headline two Americans stuck in space, billionaire swoops in but NASA’s been all, “Chill, they weren’t stranded.” They had the Crew-9 Dragon as their ride since September, and the plan was to bring them home once Crew-10 took over. Crew-10 launched last Friday Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi, Kirill Peskov docked Sunday, and that freed up Crew-9 to head back.
I get why it got hyped nine months is forever, and the Starliner screw-up didn’t help. But NASA swears it wasn’t a crisis just a long mission tweak to keep the ISS humming. Still, you wonder what if Musk did send an extra Dragon? Would they be home by Christmas? Fun to think about, even if it’s probably bunk.
Why It Hits
This isn’t just some space geek thing it’s bigger. Crew-9 coming home wraps a chapter for NASA’s Commercial Crew gig. SpaceX nailed their ninth rotation, showing they’ve got this down pat. Boeing’s Starliner? Still a headache back on Earth, but not ready for people yet. Up on the ISS, Crew-10’s settling in, and a Soyuz swap’s coming in April. It’s this nonstop relay, keeping that station alive 250 miles up.For me, it’s personal too. Space grabs you it’s gutsy, messy, human. JFK’s assassination shook trust way back when, and this Crew-9 mess had a whiff of that people wondering if the system’s hiding something. Probably not, but that doubt’s there. These four pulling through? It’s a win you can feel.What’s Next?
Today, March 19, 2025, they’re in Houston at NASA’s Johnson Space Center docs checking them out, families hugging them tight. The Dragon Freedom’s off to Florida for a tune-up before its next run. On the ISS, Crew-10’s getting comfy, and a Russian Progress ship just nudged the orbit up for that April Soyuz handoff. Space keeps moving, no breaks.
