NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Aleksandr Gorbunov, who arrived aboard their own SpaceX capsule last fall with two seats left for the ‘Starliner duo,’ have made a remarkable splashdown after months in space. Following a tense nine-month ordeal, they joined NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and her colleagues, who had been stranded in space, completing a highly anticipated return mission.
“On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home,” came the welcoming radio transmission from SpaceX Mission Control in California as the crew neared Earth. “What a ride,” responded Hague, the mission commander, as he took in the moment of their dramatic return. “I see a capsule full of grins ear to ear.”