NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore finally returned to Earth after an unexpected nine-month mission aboard the ISS, originally planned for just eight days. The duo, along with Nick Hague and Aleksandr Grebyonkin, splashed down off Florida's coast, where a pod of dolphins curiously surrounded the SpaceX Dragon Freedom capsule.

Their prolonged stay was due to a failure in Boeing's Starliner propulsion system, leaving them stranded in space. The political storm intensified when Donald Trump, after assuming office, accused the Biden administration of delaying their rescue. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was later tasked with assisting NASA in their return.

Despite the controversy, NASA confirmed that the delays were due to SpaceX's own scheduling conflicts. With 286 days in orbit, Williams now holds the second-highest cumulative spaceflight time for a U.S. astronaut.