NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams returned to Earth on Tuesday after an unprecedented 286-day mission, originally intended to last only a week. They were stranded in space due to complications from a flawed Boeing test flight and subsequent issues with their SpaceX capsule, which delayed their return by several months. They finally splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico and were promptly waved at by the media while being transferred for medical evaluations. Their saga drew attention to the complexities of space travel and the coordination required between different aerospace companies.
Wilmore and Williams ended up spending 286 days in space - 278 days longer than anticipated when they launched.
NASA cut them loose a little early, given the iffy weather forecast later this week.
Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico in the early evening, just hours after departing the International Space Station.
On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home, radioed SpaceX Mission Control in California.
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