The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft descended under parachute from a bright blue sky, plopping into sparkling clear water off the Gulf Coast of Florida south of Tallahassee. The nine-month journey of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams had finally come to an end.

Wilmore and Williams will return on the SpaceX Dragon Freedom, the same spacecraft that transported the Crew-9 astronauts to the ISS. The astronauts' return is not a rescue mission, as their extended stay was planned last summer to accommodate crew rotation and space station operations.