There is a wave of happiness across the globe after the successful return of NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to Earth. NASA Crew-9 astronauts Sunita Williams, Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov returned safely from the ISS on Tuesday (local time). The White House expressed happiness over the astronauts’ return and reiterated that the promise was kept. DOGE head and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was credited for their safe return. A post by the White House highlighted that President Donald Trump had pledged to rescue the astronauts stranded in space for nine months, and the promise has been fulfilled.
Trump Hails Astronauts’ Return
The White House post on X read as: “PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT: President Trump pledged to rescue the astronauts stranded in space for nine months. Today, they safely splashed down in the Gulf of America, thanks to Elon Musk, SpaceX, and NASA!”
PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT: President Trump pledged to rescue the astronauts stranded in space for nine months.
Today, they safely splashed down in the Gulf of America, thanks to @ElonMusk, @SpaceX, and @NASA! pic.twitter.com/r01hVWAC8S
---Advertisement---— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 18, 2025
President Trump in an interview, gave Elon Musk a huge shout out and called him a ‘patriot.’ He said, “When I got into office, I said ‘Elon, we gotta get them out of there…Elon is able to do that with his genius, yet there are people who hate it, and I really believe these are people who hate our country.”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 18, 2025
Elon Musk Congratulates NASA And SpaceX Teams
Meanwhile, Elon Musk also congratulated the NASA and SpaceX teams for another safe astronaut return. He thanked President Trump for prioritising this mission. He wrote on X, “Congratulations to the SpaceX and NASA teams for another safe astronaut return! Thank you to Donald Trump for prioritizing this mission!”
Congratulations to the @SpaceX and @NASA teams for another safe astronaut return!
Thank you to @POTUS for prioritizing this mission! https://t.co/KknFDbh59s
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 18, 2025
Earlier, SpaceX too welcomed the astronauts back thorough an X post. It wrote, “Splashdown of Dragon confirmed – welcome back to Earth, Nick, Suni, Butch, and Aleks!”
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore finally returned to Earth after spending an extended nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Their Crew-9 spacecraft made a safe splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean at around 3:27 AM IST on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, marking the end of their long-awaited journey home.
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