Two astronauts stranded at the International Space Station were successfully rescued by SpaceX on Tuesday afternoon.
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were originally meant to be at the space station for a week-long mission but that turned into a nine-month ordeal after problems were detected with the return capsule.
‘This rescue embodies America at its best—we can still achieve great things.’
President Donald Trump tasked Elon Musk’s aerospace company with bringing back the pair, who rode in the SpaceX Dragon capsule alongside NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
Video showed the space capsule splashing down into the newly renamed Gulf of America off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida.
NASA posted video of the four astronauts after they arrived back to Earth.
“Recovery teams will now help the crew out of Dragon, a standard process for all crew members after returning from long-duration missions,” the post read.
Musk had claimed in February that he had offered to Biden and his administration to bring back the astronauts, but they refused the proposal. Two former NASA officials denied the allegation.
“President Trump pledged to rescue the astronauts stranded in space for nine months. Today, they safely splashed down in the Gulf of America,” read a message from the White House.
“This is what the Golden Age of Space Transportation looks like!” said Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy. “They were forgotten for nine months in space, but thanks to @POTUS’ leadership no American gets left behind.”
“Welcome home, astronauts Wilmore, Williams, and Crew-9,” said Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. “This rescue embodies America at its best—we can still achieve great things. I’m proud of the role Florida plays in the space industry and that we were the launching and landing point for this impressive mission.”
Some noted on social media that dolphins could be seen jumping near the capsule in the gulf.
Here’s video of the splash down:
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