Two astronauts return to Earth after nine months on the International Space Station

Two American astronauts who spent more than nine months on the International Space Station (ISS), instead of the eight days originally planned for their mission, landed on the coast of Florida on Tuesday, NASA video broadcast shows.

Sunny Williams and Butch Wilmore returned to Earth on a SpaceX spacecraft from multibillionaire Elon Musk, after a stay in space that was prolonged due to errors discovered on the Boeing spacecraft that transported them into space.

When they took off from Earth on June 5, 2024, on a test flight of Boeing's new spacecraft, the two astronauts were supposed to be in space for just a week. However, due to a series of problems with the spacecraft, NASA gave up and asked SpaceX for help with the return, which delayed everything, and then problems arose with the SpaceX spacecraft, which further prolonged the action.

The situation caught the world's attention. Although other astronauts had previously stayed in space for longer periods of time, none of them had to deal with so much uncertainty and so many delays.

Wilmore and Williams unplannedly performed experiments together on the International Space Station, repaired equipment, and "walked" in space. With 62 hours in nine spacewalks, Williams set a record for women.

NASA hired SpaceX and Boeing after the end of its shuttle fleet to have two competing American companies to transport astronauts until the end of the International Space Station's service life in 2030.

The plan is to replace it with private stations so NASA can focus on manned expeditions to the Moon and Mars.