SpaceX astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were stranded in space for nine months, missing out on precious family moments like Christmas and wedding anniversaries
NASA astronauts return to Earth after nine months stuck in space
Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams were relatively unknown outside of space circles when they boarded Boeing’s Starliner capsule for what was intended to be a short test flight last June. Nine months later, they’ve become global figures, winning the world’s attention — and admiration — as NASA’s stranded astronauts.
Wilmore, 62, and Williams, 59, landed off the Florida coast just before 10pm (GMT) on Tuesday following a 17-hour journey back home. They departed the International Space Station (ISS) at around 5am on Monday morning on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon with two other astronauts who had been there since last September. Four parachutes were deployed to allow the aircraft to slow down as it approached the Florida coast, making for a gentle splash down in the ocean.
READ MORE: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore return to Earth after 9 months
Wilmore, 61, was chosen by NASA as an astronaut in July 2000. So far, he has participated in three space missions, the first of which was an 11-day mission in 2009. Despite his extensive experience in space, his family in Texas expressed major concerns about his situation.
Compounding the distress was the fact that Butch missed his 30th wedding anniversary, as well as other important family events. Though understandably difficult, Deanna, his wife, said there’s little they could do about it. She added that Butch was doing his best to stay positive, saying: “He just accepts it, knowing that the Lord is in control, and because of that, he’s at peace with where he is.”
Butch and Deanna have two daughters: 19-year-old Daryn and 16-year-old Logan. Both teens joined their mother during an interview to talk about how they’ve been coping with their dad being stuck in space. Daryn shared that one way her dad made the best of the situation is by sharing stunning views of Earth, particularly the sunsets, during his FaceTime calls with them, which he makes most days.
“It is so cool; he gives us a lot of Earth views, I especially like seeing the sunset,” Daryn said.
She previously said that her father being away has ‘been hard,’ noting that it was ‘less the fact that he’s up there’ and ‘more the fact of why’.
“There’s a lot of politics, there’s a lot of things that I’m not at liberty to say, and that I don’t know fully about,” she said in a video posted on TikTok. “But there’s been issues. There’s been negligence. And that’s the reason why this has just kept getting delayed. There’s just been issue after issue after issue.
“We’ve had so many changes,” she continued, “and it’s a bit mentally exhausting”.
Daryn added, “It’s been hard if we’re completely honest.” Still, she said her father kept his chin up amid the delays. “He’s just been bummed, but he’s fine,” she shared. “My dad is very resilient.”
Sadly, the family had to come to terms with the fact that Butch would miss some key milestones. He missed out on Daryn’s college theatre performances and most of Logan’s senior year of high school. However, Deanna remained resilient, stating, “You just have to roll with it and expect the unexpected.”
Following Wilmore’s return to Earth, Daryn hit back at critics who blamed President Donald Trump for her father’s extended stay in space.
In the comment section of one of her TikTok videos, a user told Daryn she should ‘blame Trump’ for what happened to her father, to which the astronaut’s daughter responded: “It’s not Trump’s fault a rocket didn’t work.”
While Butch’s brother, Jack, and father, Eugene, have yet to speak out about the situation, Eugene has been candid in the past about having a loved one in space. In a May 2024 interview with the Nashville Tennessean , he shared his thoughts on the experience. “When he was in space last time, my wife was alive, and we carried on the best we could,” Eugene said. “We communicated with him and even had live chats. We never got too nervous when he was preparing for space. Many people prayed for him, and prayers do make a difference.”
Meanwhile, Williams, 58, became an astronaut in 1998 and has completed two missions. She was also the former record holder for the most spacewalks completed by a woman. She and her husband, Michael, a federal marshal, have been married for over 20 years. The couple, who live in a Houston suburb, both have helicopter flying experience from the early years of their careers.
Although Michael tends to be more private than Wilmore’’ family, he did speak with The Wall Street Journal about his wife’s situation. While he didn’t go into detail about how he’s handling her absence, he did acknowledge how the change of plans has affected Sunita. He described space as her “happy place”, implying that the extended stay hasn’t been as problematic for her as it might have been for others.
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