Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams are the two NASA astronauts that have been circulating in the news since becoming stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) in June 2024. After several obstacles, they returned to Earth on March 18, 2025.
Read on to learn what caused this challenging situation, what plans were concocted to resolve it and how each explorer braved being an astronaut stuck in space.
Stranded on the International Space Station
The situation can be overly simplified by a quote from NASA’s Commercial Crew Program head, Steve Stich, who said, “Human spaceflight is full of unexpected challenges.” These challenges are made worse by poor quality control and craftsmanship from once-trusted manufacturer Boeing.
A similar technical issue with the Boeing Starliner capsule postponed the mission’s initial launch date, and three more helium leaks and propulsion system malfunctions occurred when Wilmore and Williams were en route to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Boeing Starliner was deemed unfit to return, so NASA decided to award SpaceX and its Crew Dragon spacecraft the mission of retrieving the stranded pilots in the final months of the Biden administration.
Although this recovery mission was already underway when President Donald Trump took office, the former reality television star attempted to take credit after the fact when he loudly blamed Biden and his administration for failing to bring the astronauts home fast enough.
In reality, billionaire Elon Musk and his team at SpaceX delayed the target launch of the replacement capsule, which required more preparation.
How Long Were the Astronauts Stranded?
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were in space for 286 days — over 9 months.
When Did Butch and Suni Return to Earth?
A SpaceX capsule carrying the astronauts safely landed on Earth March 18, 2025. NASA plans initially expected to bring them home well before this, but a slew of delays pushed the homecoming to late March.
Silver Lining: A New Record
NASA astronaut Suni Williams’ final spacewalk (which lasted 5 hours, 26 minutes) with fellow astronaut Nick Hague helped her break the record for most career spacewalk time by a female (62 hours, 6 minutes), surpassing former record-holder Peggy Whitson (60 hours, 21 minutes).
During their maintenance mission, Williams and Hague installed patches, replaced reflector devices on docking adapters and performed other preventative maintenance for future missions.
