After nine months of being stranded in space at the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore are finally back home.

In June of 2024, the two astronauts took off in a Boeing Starliner capsule heading for the space station for what was intended to be between an eight and 10-day trip. The new Boeing craft was meant to be the replacement and American alternative to the Russian Soyuz flights, and the mission was its first piloted flight. After degraded thrusters, which are important for re-entry, and helium leaks in the capsule’s propulsion system were discovered, their flight home was delayed. NASA considered the return from the space station too dangerous to attempt. In September, the capsule returned to Earth without its passengers.

Wilmore maintained an optimistic attitude despite the delays. He told CBS reporter Mark Strassmann in September, “Eight days to eight months or nine months or 10 months, whatever it is, we’re going to do the very best job we can do every single day.”

For the ensuing months, NASA weighed potential options on how to bring the two astronauts home safely. On December 17, NASA announced that Williams and Wilmore would be retrieved by a new SpaceX crew that would arrive at the ISS in late March “at the earliest.” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk believes that the reason the mission to rescue the stranded Americans was delayed so long was a result of the Biden administration playing politics.

Musk told Sean Hannity in a joint interview with President Trump, “They were left up there for political reasons, which is not good.” Musk also claimed in a post on X during a public feud with former Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, “SpaceX could have brought them back several months ago. I offered this directly to the Biden administration and they refused.”

Trump had also posted on Truth Social in January, “I have just asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to ‘go get’ the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration.”

Finally, after all of the political strife and the preparations for the mission were complete, a Dragon spacecraft, propelled by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched in orbit on March 14 with its crew: Air Force Major and pilot for the SpaceX craft, Nichole Ayers, Army Col. and mission commander, Anne McClain, Takuya Onishi, an astronaut with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. Twenty-eight and a half hours of travel at 17,000 mph later, the Dragon docked with the ISS to carry the two marooned Americans home.

Before the return voyage began, the now famous astronauts were interviewed by CBS. Mark Strassmann asked, “What is your life lesson or takeaway from these nine months in space?”

Wilmore seized the opportunity to explain that his faith was what provided peace during the trying time. He told the reporter, “My feeling on all of this goes back to my faith. It’s bound in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is working out His plan and His purposes for His glory. … And however that plays out, I am content, because I understand that.”

His joyful words came despite being separated from his two daughters and wife for nearly a year and currently being faced with possible health concerns like loss in bone density and poorer cardiovascular function as a result of being in space for a prolonged period of time. Wilmore inspired many across the globe including, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, who in a post on X, called Wilmore’s unwavering belief, “Astronomical faith!”

The spacecraft undocked from the ISS at 1:05 a.m. EST Tuesday morning and embarked on its 17-hour return trek home. The capsule splashed into the waters of the newly named Gulf of America at 5:57 p.m. EST ending the 286-day journey of Williams and Wilmore. Within the hour, the two were smiling and waving to the cameras before being whisked away to undergo medical checks.

Zachary Gohl serves as an intern at Family Research Council.