Sunita Williams Returns: First Visuals of NASA Astronaut After Epic Splashdown Go Viral

NASA astronaut and Crew-9 commander Nick Hague was the first to emerge from the Dragon capsule with assistance from the ground crew, nearly an hour after the spacecraft splashed down off the Florida coast.

He was followed by Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who slid down a ramp from the capsule, with Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore exiting soon after.

Photo Credit: NASA/YouTube

Following recovery and cooldown procedures, the astronauts began disembarking from the capsule, weighed down by gravity after spending nine months in space.

They departed the International Space Station on Sunday after being relieved by Crew-10 and landed in the ocean 17 hours later. The astronauts will be transported to Houston by helicopter to undergo a 45-day rehabilitation programme.

Their return was met with an unusual welcome as dolphins were spotted swimming around the capsule before it was retrieved by the recovery vessel. The spacecraft was successfully lifted from the water, and its side hatch was opened for the first time since September.

Crew-9 undocked at 10:35 am (IST), with NASA sharing footage of the spacecraft separating from the space station. Elon Musk's SpaceX was entrusted with the task of returning Crew-9 to Earth. The mission was launched aboard a Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket, and Crew-10 has now replaced Crew-9 at the ISS.

Williams and Wilmore, both former US Navy pilots, had originally travelled to the orbital laboratory on June 5 last year for what was meant to be an eight-day mission - the first crewed flight of Boeing's Starliner. However, propulsion malfunctions rendered the Starliner capsule unfit for return, forcing it to return uncrewed in September.

With uncertainty surrounding their return, NASA reassigned them to SpaceX's Crew-9 mission. A Dragon spacecraft was sent in September with a two-member crew instead of the usual four, ensuring space for the stranded astronauts.

After multiple delays, a Dragon capsule carrying a relief team successfully docked at the ISS on Sunday, paving the way for Crew-9's long-awaited return.