Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally due to land back on Earth, and some 280 days after they stepped onto the International Space Station, they’re due to be rescued NASA’s Crew-10 relief team.

While the original mission was only due to take eight days, issues with their craft meant it was flown back unmanned and the pair were forced to wait for a new crew to fly up to replace them on the ISS.

There were plans to put the Crew-10 team on a new Dragon spacecraft, but due to mounting pressure and complaints that Williams and Wilmore had been ‘forgotten’ by the Biden administration, NASA eventually settled on reusing an existing Dragon.

Wilmore and Williams have been on the ISS since June 2024 (Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers / Contributor / Getty)

Although Williams has insisted the astronauts aren’t stranded, we’re sure they’ll be glad to get home after missing birthdays, Thanksgiving, and New Year celebrations.

The dynamic duo will immediately be rushed off on a stretcher for a ‘brutal’ rehab regime, but more than catching a glimpse of them landing, you’ll soon by able to spot the ISS.

Looking at NASA’s Spot the Station site, the ISS will be visible from the Kennedy Space Center for four minutes on Thursday, March 13.

Those who want to look to the skies will be able to see the ISS at 8:36 PM (local time), appearing at 10° above WNW and disappearing at 10° above N.

There are plenty of other positions you’ll be able to see the ISS. Those at the Statue of Liberty will be able to snatch a seven-minute glimpse on Friday, March 14 at 7:50 PM.

President Donald Trump can get a six-minute look on March 12 at 7:49 PM, or five minutes on March 13 at 8:38 PM.

With Musk being awarded a lucrative contract to destroy the ISS, you might want to get a look while you still can. Even though the SpaceX boss has said he wants to deorbit the space station in the next two years, Williams herself has suggested it would be wrong to do it before 2030, saying the ISS is currently in its prime.

The ISS has happily been sat up there since 1998, and despite being some 250 miles above us, the fact it circles the Earth 15.5 times a day means it’s often not too hard to catch a glimpse of.

NASA says that although the ISS looks a bit like an airplane moving across the sky, the fact it flies at 28,000 kilometers per hour means it’ll appear much quicker. Thankfully, the fact its roughly the size of a football field means the ISS isn’t too hard to spot with the naked eye – as long as the horizon isn’t cluttered and the skies are clear.

The Spot the Station site can pinpoint locations around the globe, meaning it’s not just those in the USA who’ll be able to take a look at the ISS in all its glory.

With Williams and Wilmore due to land on March 16, their nine-month extended stay in space is nearly at an end.

Elon Musk’s latest comments surrounding the International Space Station (ISS) have proven controversial even within the Trump administration, as the SpaceX CEO has called for an early end to NASA’s flagship program.

Having been built and launched in 1998, the International Space Station has been one of NASA and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) leading achievements when it comes to space travel and research.

It allows astronauts to stay in one safe place while conducting experiments in outer space, and has had a persistent crew on board since 2000 – which is part of the reason why the return of stranded astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams has been so delayed.

Despite widespread praise for the program since its launch, one of it’s biggest opponents is SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, who was recently awarded the contract to destroy the ISS after 2030.

A contract worth around $843,000,000 was awarded to SpaceX, allowing them to send a rocket which would then deorbit and guide the ISS into an uninhabited area of Earth to avoid any collateral damage.

However, Musk has taken to social media and criticized the Space Station program, calling additionally for an earlier end to it’s operations in a controversial statement:

“It is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the Space Station,” Musk proudly declared on X. “It has served its purpose. There is very little incremental utility. Let’s go to Mars.”

He also added, in reply to someone asking whether he wants it to be destroyed prior to the 2030 target, that “the decision is up to the President, but my recommendation is as soon as possible. I recommend 2 years from now.”

Taking Musk’s statement at face value it’s inferred that he believes that the funding for the ISS should instead be rerouted into a conquest for Mars – something that not only SpaceX but also President Trump have been vocal for.

However, key members inside the Trump administration, including the president, have pushed back against Musk’s calls to deorbit the ISS earlier than initially planned.

As reported by Bloomberg, President Trump outlined that he would not let Musk be involved in government work related to space, seemingly limiting him to his DOGE duties, although there’s no doubt that Musk has significant power within the current administration.

Additionally, Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ted Cruz has also pushed back against Musk’s idea, arguing: “We’ve invested more than $100 billion into the International Space Station, and it would be exceptionally foolhardy to prematurely send all that infrastructure and all those tax dollars to the bottom of the ocean.”

Certainly a contradictory move for Musk, who’s current focus is saving as much taxpayer money as possible as head of the new Department of Government Efficiency.

Many have come to the defense of the ISS after Musk called for it’s swift demise (NASA)

He even has astronauts arguing against his actions, with the aforementioned Suni Williams coming to the defense of the ISS when asked about Musk’s recent claims.

She has suggested, like Cruz, that NASA would be wasting tax payer money if things were to prematurely end and the “world class science that this laboratory is capable of” would cease to exist.

Many in Musk’s replies have also called into question his push for Mars travel, challenging the idea that reaching and eventually colonizing Mars is the best possible option for humanity.

“So let’s spend tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money for an entirely useless manned mission to Mars that serves absolutely no purpose in helping Americans with their daily struggles,” wrote one user, adding “those tens of billions of dollars, to you, of course.”

Another argued: “Why go to Mars? Seriously what benefit will it serve instead of working on this rock we are sitting on? You just want the money for your project. Just say it.”

Whether President Trump even has the power to push forward the timeline is another question too, as approval would likely be needed from other controlling enterprises including the ESA, Roscosmos, JAXA, and CSA.

Much like experiencing a delay at the airport, it’s only natural to wonder what stranded astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore have been up to during their extended wait upon the International Space Station (ISS).

Departing in June 2024 in what was only supposed to take around eight days, the pair have now been ‘stuck’ up in space for over nine months as their return flights kept getting delayed over and over again.

While Elon Musk and President Trump have blamed the previous Biden administration for deliberately not bringing them back, SpaceX’s recent delay shows that the situation is far more complicated than they are suggesting.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been stranded on the ISS since June 2024, with recent delays pushing their return back even further (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Initially their Boeing Starliner spacecraft had to be sent back to Earth unmanned after it experienced technical faults, after which the SpaceX flight that would then bring them back also had major delays.

Everyone thought that the Falcon 9 launch would finally bring them back on Wednesday, but an eleventh hour fault meant that this has now been delayed to 7:03 p.m. ET today (Friday, March 14), with a backup scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday) if any issues pop up once more.

282 days is an awful long time though, and the pair have likely long since completed the mission that saw them rocketed up to the International Space Station in the first place, leaving many to wonder what they’ve been up to in order to pass the time.

Their initial expedition, as reported by LADbible, revolved around ultrasound machines and how they affected the human body while in space. However, they’ve also been tasked with maintaining the ISS (despite it nearing its end-of-life), including work on the toilet system, which isn’t exactly the glamor of space travel that you might expect.

Previously they have managed to conduct a number of spacewalks though, including a record-breaking effort by Williams. One amateur photographer even managed to snap them in the act in a staggering image, and that’s likely made the excruciating wait more than worth it for the pair.

Both have conducted spacewalks in their time upon the ISS, which they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise (YouTube/NASA)

Their mission will be far from over even after they land back on Earth though, as they’ll be both immediately stretchered to a medical facility where they’ll have to undertake a six-week physical rehabilitation program.

This is due to the effects that living in low gravity for such a long stretch of time has on the body, as you end up far weaker and can struggle to walk without proper exercise and rehab – even though both engaged in regular strenuous exercise while on board the ISS.

They’ll also have to get used to other stranger realities of life back on Earth, including an adjustment period after their skin has turned ‘baby-like’.

Hopefully the wait will have been worth it though, as Williams in particular has expressed the difficulties of being away from her family while stranded in space.

It looks like ‘stranded’ NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will have to spend a few more days on the International Space Station, but when you’ve been up there for 280 days, what’s a few more between friends? Having missed birthdays, holidays, and even tucking into a Thanksgiving dinner in the stars, Williams and Wilmore have become the center of a media storm.

President Donald Trump called on Elon Musk to fly up there and rescue them, while the world’s richest man accused the Biden administration of using them as political pawns. NASA is finally setting out to swap Williams and Wilmore’s positions on the ISS with the Crew-10 team, although a last-minute cancelation of their launch means the planned rescue mission is now targeting a March 14 blast-off.

Although Williams and Wilmore’s original mission was only supposed to last eight days, problems with their Boeing Starliner meant the craft was flown back unmanned. The SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts docked with the ISS on September 29, and with two spare seats on their craft, they’ll take Williams and Wilmore down with them when their Crew-10 replacements eventually arrive.

Wilmore and Williams have had their return delayed (whoisinspace.com)

There have been questions about why NASA didn’t simply send up another crew to swap out the marooned pair, but now, NASA associate administrator for space operations Ken Bowersox has explained why they’ve been left aboard the ISS for 280 days (and counting). As always, it comes down to money. According to the Daily Mail, NASA’s 2024 budget only stretched to $30 billion, meaning there wasn’t enough left in the pot to send another mission up to rescue the pair.

NASA ultimately decided the funds couldn’t be stretched, with Bowersox explaining: “The SpaceX folks helped us folks helped us with a lot of options on how we would bring Sunny and Butch home on Dragon [a capsule] in a contingency.

“They’ve been so helpful this last year, coming up with those options. When it comes to adding on missions or or bringing uh a capsule home early, those were always options.”

Discussing the allegations that they were left in space for political reasons, Bowesox said although there ‘may have been conversations’ in the White House, he wasn’t part of them.

Speaking at a press conference, SpaceX Vice President Bill Gerstenmaier said that NASA leaving Williams and Wilmore up there meant the agency could “use Sunny and Butch in a very productive manner” and ‘keep the science going’. If they had brought them back earlier, it would’ve left a skeleton crew of astronauts to conduct research on the ISS.

The Daily Mail then goes on to highlight the apparent $20 million that NASA spent on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) grants and contracts during the 2024 budget period.

Elsewhere, a 2024 Inspector General report uncovered’ inappropriate use’ of award fees, including more than $77 million that NASA has reportedly paid for SLS boosters and engines contracts since 2020.

At least the end is (hopefully) in sight for Williams and Wilmore’s extended stay in space, as when the Crew-10 team gets there, there will be a two-day period of handover before they’ll finally be heading back to Earth and straight into a ‘brutal’ rehab regime.