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Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore & NASA's Crew-9 Astronauts Breathe Earthly Air After 9 Months, Disembark From SpaceX's Dragon (Video)

Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore & NASA’s Crew-9 Astronauts Breathe Earthly Air After 9 Months, Disembark From SpaceX’s Dragon (Video)

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CNN reported that the astronauts landed the capsule on stretchers, as customary. SpaceX takes this caution for all astronauts returning from long-duration space missions.

California (US): NASA Crew-9 astronauts Sunita Williams, Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov breathed terrestrial air for the first time in over nine months on Wednesday after the successful splashdown of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule.

CNN reported that the astronauts landed the capsule on stretchers, as customary. SpaceX takes this caution for all astronauts returning from long-duration space missions.

Previously, a worker rinsed the Crew Dragon spacecraft with fresh water to remove as much salt water as possible.

“Saltwater is corrosive, and we want to try and rinse out as much of the salt water as possible to reduce that corrosion on the metallic structures,” said SpaceX’s Kate Tice.

The side hatch of the Crew Dragon remains closed during its time in orbit. After docking with the ISS, astronauts enter and exit through a separate hatch on top of the vehicle, CNN reported.

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SpaceX’s recovery ship, Megan, used a large rig to lift the capsule bearing the four astronauts out of the water. Nearby crew members carefully monitored the spacecraft to ensure there were no fuel leaks.

As the capsule splashed down off the shore of Tallahassee, Florida, several dolphins were seen swimming around it, welcoming the astronauts home. At least five dolphins were captured on video circling the capsule as it bounced in the water, CNN reported. Boats in the area assisted in stabilizing the capsules and ensuring the astronauts’ safety.

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Russian astronaut Aleksandr Gorbunov have been in space since September 2024. However, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams had been away much longer–their journey began last June. Initially expected to last just a week, their mission was extended to more than nine months due to issues with their Boeing Starliner capsule, which postponed their return.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt previously stated that US President Donald Trump had fulfilled his promise to bring home the “forgotten” astronauts.

“President Trump promised to look out for the forgotten man and woman. At 5:57 PM ET tonight — promise made, promise kept!” She said in a post on X.

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