Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Suni Williams Return Home: What’s Next?

Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams returned home safely on March 18 after being stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for 286 days.

The duo made history in June 2024 as part of Boeing’s Starliner test flight to the ISS, but what was supposed to be an eight-day mission stretched out for more than nine months due to technical problems. SpaceX finally sent its Crew-8 Dragon spacecraft to bring the two astronauts home this week, with the craft safely landing off the coast of Florida after a 17-hour journey. Now, as Wilmore and Williams reunite with their families, Starliner will face questions on why its test mission failed.

Keep scrolling for a full rundown on Wilmore and Williams’ planned test mission, what they can expect now that they’re home and reactions from prominent figures:

What Happened

Former NASA astronauts Wilmore and Williams were originally supposed to take part in an eight-day mission for Boeing’s Starliner when their craft took off June 5, 2024. The mission was designed to test the viability of rotating crewed commercial space missions, but Boeing faced unexpected setbacks.

Helium leaks were a recurring problem throughout Starliner’s journey, forcing flight controllers to close off two helium manifolds, which in turn disabled 6 of Starlinder’s 28 reaction control system thrusters. The issue was repaired sufficiently enough that Starliner moved forward with its planned docking at the International Space Station.

However, as Starliner approached the ISS, mission teams discovered that eight of the craft’s reaction control system thrusters had ceased functioning. Wilmore and Williams were forced to keep Starliner in stasis outside of the space station’s no-fly zone until mission crews on Earth were able to reset the thrusters with a series of tests.

Once Wilmore and Williams were safely aboard the ISS, NASA decided in September 2024 it would have to bring Starliner back to earth without any human crew members on board in order to conduct further testing. This left Wilmore and Williams essentially stranded on the space station until NASA was able to launch a rescue mission in March.

By the time of Wilmore and Williams’s rescue, they had logged 286 days (or nine months) in space, which is significantly longer than the six-month missions that astronauts routinely take on the International Space Station.

Wilmore told reporters, from space, in March: “We came prepared to stay long, even though we planned to stay short.”

“That’s what your nation’s human spaceflight program’s all about,” he went on. “Planning for unknown, unexpected contingencies. And we did that.”

The Rescue

Wilmore and Williams were originally set to leave the space station on June 14, 2024, but that date was repeatedly pushed back until NASA chose to bring Starliner back to earth uncrewed.

“We don’t feel abandoned. We don’t feel stuck. We don’t feel stranded. I understand why others may think that,” Wilmore told CNN in February. “We come prepared, we come committed.”

While NASA and Boeing were working on a rescue plan, Wilmore and Williams conducted more than 900 hours of research, according to Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate.

President Donald Trump ordered NASA to move up its timetable for a rescue mission when he took office in January. In response, NASA made changes to its flight plan by selecting a SpaceX capsule for the mission at a cost of roughly $100 million to $150 million, according to Reuters.

On March 18, Wilmore and Williams left the ISS to join two other astronauts, NASA’s Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, on board the Crew Dragon spacecraft for a 17-hour journey back to earth.

SpaceX’s Dragon landed safely off the coast of Florida at around 5:57 p.m. ET. Cameras were on the scene to capture the moment when Wilmore and Williams disembarked the Dragon and stepped back onto Earth for the first time.

What’s Next

Wilmore and Williams could now face a variety of physical and emotional challenges after their nine-month stay on the International Space Station.

According to Reuters, humans who endure lengthy periods in microgravity can face facial swelling and potential vision problems due to increased cranial pressure. Astronauts can also experience bone density loss and muscle atrophy as well as blood pressure irregularities.

Additionally, they regularly endure balance and coordination complications once they return home, plus the possibility of psychological stress and sleep changes due to living in isolation for lengthy periods.

Because Wilmore and Williams were originally contracted for an eight-day mission but spent more than 900 hours doing research by the time of their rescue, NASA addressed whether they would receive overtime pay in addition to their reported $152,000 salaries.

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“When NASA astronauts are aboard the International Space Station, they receive regular, 40-hour work-week salaries. They do not receive overtime or holiday/weekend pay,” NASA told People. “While in space, NASA astronauts are on official travel orders as federal employees, so their transportation, lodging and meals are provided. They also are on long-term TDY, and receive the incidentals amount for each day they are in space. The incidentals amount is reduced by the percentage required for the length of the trip per federal travel regulations.”

As for Starliner, NASA commercial crew program manager Steve Stich told reporters ahead of the rescue mission that Boeing would need to mount another test flight — potentially uncrewed — before pursuing regular missions to the ISS with human crew.

“What we’d like to do is that one flight and then get into a crew rotation flight,” he said. “So, the next flight up would really test all the changes we’re making to the vehicle, and then the next fight beyond that, we really need to get Boeing into a crew rotation. So, that’s the strategy.”

Stich later confirmed that Boeing was in the process of organizing another Starliner test mission, following speculation that it could be too costly an investment for the aerospace company.

“[We are] working hand in hand with Boeing as well on certification of Starliner, getting that vehicle back to flight,” he said, via BBC News.

Reactions

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk appeared on Fox News on March 18 to thank his rescue crew for bringing the two stranded astronauts home safely.

“Thanks to the excellent work of the SpaceX team working with NASA, the astronauts are now safely home. And so congratulations to the SpaceX / NASA teams on excellent work,” he said.

Jimmy Fallon made light of the rescue mission during his opening monologue on the March 18 edition of The Tonight Show.

Fallon quipped, “Today, the Boeing astronauts who were stranded at the International Space Station for nine months finally returned to Earth. Right now, they’re the first people in history to honestly text someone, ‘Sorry, just saw this!’”

“Yup, they were up there for nine months, or as the two astronauts put it, ‘There’s three of us now,’” Fallon added.

Millions around the world documented on social media what it was like to watch Wilmore and Williams return home after their unexpectedly lengthy stay in space.

“In an age of division, let’s take a moment to recognize an achievement that transcends politics: the safe return of our astronauts. This extraordinary feat is a testament to human ingenuity, perseverance, and the boundless possibilities of science and engineering,” The Biggest Loser star Jillian Michaels wrote via X. “It reminds us that when we channel our collective efforts toward exploration and discovery, we achieve the impossible. Today, let’s celebrate not just the individuals who embarked on this journey, but the generations of visionaries, scientists, and engineers who made this moment possible. @SpaceX.”

Happy Days legend Henry Winkler shared, “The Astronauts are home … what a moment !!!! Welcome back to earth.”

NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro said her team was “thrilled” to welcome all four astronauts back to earth following the successful rescue mission.

“Through preparation, ingenuity and dedication, we achieve great things together for the benefit of humanity, pushing the boundaries of what is possible from low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars,” Petro noted.