It was a picture-perfect splashdown as American astronauts Suni Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore finally arrived home after spending 286 days in space. They were accompanied by two SpaceX Dragon crew members who assisted in the rescue.
And not only was the weather perfect in the Gulf of America off the coast of Florida today, but the astronauts on Crew-9 were greeted by a curious pod of dolphins!
Dolphins really pulled up to the splashdown like they were the rescue crew pic.twitter.com/IPw05BPrUE
— Omar Jimenez (@OmarJimenez) March 18, 2025
The recovery crew was all business, focused on retrieving the astronauts from the vessel, but they no doubt were tickled pink to see the playful mammals near their boat.
[UPDATES] Stranded Astronauts Return to Earth
The astronauts are currently going through the standard medical evaluations, but they all looked happy and healthy when the door to the space capsule opened.
JUST IN: Suni Williams is seen being helped up after exiting the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 18, 2025
This is her first time feeling gravity on Earth in *9 months.*
That must be an insane feeling.pic.twitter.com/eqETiEyMUN
In an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham this evening, President Trump lamented that former President Biden had left the astronauts in space for so long.
"Biden left them up. He abandoned them," he said. "Now they're coming back."
President Trump on American astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore returning home:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 18, 2025
"Biden left them up. He abandoned them... Now, they're coming back... They have to get better...and when they do, they'll come to the Oval Office." pic.twitter.com/UvZp7aGsCK
Meeting Trump (and hopefully Elon Musk) in the Oval Office will be exciting for the astronauts. But first, they're no doubt going to want to spend some hard-earned quality time with their families.
Elon Musk and DOGE are bringing much-needed accountability to our out-of-control bureaucracy as they take a chainsaw to rampant waste, fraud, and abuse.
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