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NEEDHAM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Needham-native Suni Williams finally returned to Earth Tuesday evening, after over nine months at the International Space Station.
Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore launched to the ISS in June, and their eight-day mission turned into 286 days because of problems with their Boeing Starliner Capsule.
NASA decided to return the pair with a SpaceX Dragon capsule. Crew-9 included Williams, Wilmore, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
Crew-9 departed from the ISS early Tuesday and splashed down about 17 hours later at 5:57 p.m. off the coast of Florida.
Hague said his crew was happy to be back on Earth.
“What a ride,” he said after splashdown.
WBZ's Brooke McCarthy (@BrookeWBZ) reports.