Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore returned on a SpaceX capsule on March 18, 2025 (Credit: NASA/ Flickr/ Public Domain)

When NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore launched for the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Boeing’s Starliner on June 5, 2024, they expected to be back within eight days. However, concerns about the spacecraft's safety extended their stay at the ISS for nine months. The astronauts finally returned to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon on March 18, 2025.