'Promise Made, Promise Kept' Trump on Crew-9 rescue, thanks Musk and NASA

California: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission successfully concluded on Tuesday with the safe return of astronauts Sunita Williams, Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Gulf of America off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, at 5:57 pm EDT. The astronauts, who had been aboard the ISS for months, were retrieved by SpaceX recovery vessels and will now head to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for post-mission evaluations and reunions with their families.

The White House underscored President Donald Trump’s role in prioritising the astronauts' return. The administration highlighted efforts to accelerate their homecoming, with Trump stating, "Promise made, promise kept." SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also congratulated the mission teams, thanking Trump for ensuring the operation remained a priority.

The Crew-9 mission, originally designed for a shorter duration, was extended due to technical setbacks with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Williams and Wilmore had initially launched on June 5, 2024, aboard the Starliner for a planned one-week mission. However, safety concerns following an uncrewed return of the spacecraft led NASA to extend their stay aboard the ISS, integrating them into Expedition 71/72 and scheduling their return with Crew-9 astronauts.

Hague and Gorbunov, who launched later on September 28, 2024, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, joined the extended mission. Over the course of their stay, the astronauts collectively orbited Earth thousands of times, covering millions of miles in space. Williams and Wilmore alone traveled 121.3 million miles over 286 days, while Hague and Gorbunov spent 171 days in space, traveling 72.5 million miles.

Throughout the mission, the Crew-9 astronauts engaged in more than 150 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations. Their work included research on plant growth in microgravity, stem cell technology for regenerative medicine, circadian rhythm lighting systems, and microbial survival in space. Additionally, the team deployed the world’s first wooden satellite as part of an experimental study on sustainable space materials.

Williams, a veteran astronaut, further cemented her legacy by setting a new record for the longest total spacewalking time by a female astronaut. She spent 62 hours and 6 minutes outside the ISS across multiple extravehicular activities (EVAs). Alongside Wilmore and Hague, she contributed to key station maintenance, including removing a radio frequency group antenna, installing patches on X-ray telescope light filters, and collecting surface samples for research.

The Crew-9 mission was the fourth flight of the Dragon spacecraft Freedom, which had previously supported NASA’s Crew-4 and private Axiom space missions. Following its return, the spacecraft will undergo inspection and refurbishment at SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral facility in preparation for future missions.

With Crew-9’s departure, NASA’s Crew-10 mission is now underway, having docked at the ISS on March 16 for another long-duration stay. NASA continues its Commercial Crew Program, which aims to enhance human spaceflight capabilities while laying the groundwork for future missions to the Moon and Mars.