'Promise made, promise kept': White House on safe return of Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore to Earth

NASA astronaut Suni Williams gives a thumbs-up after being helped out of a SpaceX capsule onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan after landing in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Fla., Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP photo)

The White House on Tuesday (local time) welcomed the astronauts back on Earth and said US President Donald Trump had vowed to rescue those stuck in space for nine months and has delivered on his promise.

The White House posted on X, “PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT: President Trump pledged to rescue the astronauts stranded in space for nine months."

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 The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 18, 2025

Donald Trump also shared a video of the splashdown moment of the astronauts on his social media platform, Truth Social, without writing anything in the caption.

Also Read: Sunita Williams' Return Live 

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore spent 286 days in space, far exceeding their original plan by 278 days. Throughout their journey, they orbited Earth 4,576 times and covered a distance of 121 million miles (195 million kilometers) before returning home. The two NASA astronauts, along with American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, successfully returned to Earth on Tuesday (3:27 am IST, Wednesday).

The crew safely splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee in the Florida Panhandle in the Gulf of America. Within an hour, the astronauts were out of their capsule, waving and smiling at the cameras while being hustled away in reclining stretchers for routine medical checks.

The crew returned after an unexpected nine-month stay in space, which captivated global attention and became a political flashpoint.

Donald Trump had accused the previous Joe Biden administration of leaving the astronauts stranded in space for “political reasons”, and had alleged that they were incapable of carrying out the mission. In January, President Trump asked Elon Musk to accelerate the astronauts’ return.

Sharing a video of the splashdown, Musk congratulated his SpaceX team and NASA and also thanked President Trump for "prioritising 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

The astronauts will be taken to their crew quarters at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for a few days of health assessments, as part of the standard procedure for astronaut returns. They will be cleared by NASA flight surgeons before being allowed to reunite with their families.