Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore strapped themselves inside their Crew-9 Dragon spacecraft.
This was their ride home.
They hadn't inhaled fresh air, experienced gravity, or even had a proper shower for 286 days.
And as they spent close to 7,000 hours in space, Christmas, birthdays, big news and small family moments had all been missed as they whizzed around the planet at 28,000kph.
But the day the pair would journey home had arrived.
Along with fellow astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, they undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) to embark on a 17-hour trip back to Earth.
The white SpaceX Dragon shuttle seen on a black space backdrop with its nose cone hatch open
The capsule's journey from the ISS to Earth took about 17 hours.(Reuters: NASA)
Astronauts landing
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams and their fellow astronauts descend in the Crew Dragon spacecraft to their splashdown.(NASA TV via Reuters)
SpaceX dragon capsule entering the earth's atmosphere
One of the first images of the SpaceX Dragon capsule entering the Earth's atmosphere.(NASA)
It was early evening at their destination as the four-person crew raced across time zones, re-entering Earth's atmosphere in blistering heat.
With nitrox injected into their spacesuits they were able to endure the intensity of re-entry, encased in a capsule capable of withstanding temperatures up to 1,650 degrees Celsius.
As re-entry began, a wall of plasma bracketed the outside of the capsule, blocking all communications.
As the line went dead, fingers were crossed at Mission Control in the hope that what happened next happened smoothly.
On the other side of the world in Jhulasan, India, the village Williams's father comes from, people prayed for her safe return.
Indians attend a yagna during a special prayer meeting for the safe return of Sunita Williams
Hindu priests and villagers attend a yagna during a special prayer meeting for the safe return of Sunita Williams.(Reuters: Amit Dave)
As the minutes ticked by, a message came through.
Commander Nick Hague's voice. He was "enjoying the ride".
Minutes later, cheers erupted in the control room as all four parachutes deployed successfully, allowing the capsule to slow to a gentle 28kph by the time it splashed down.
A space capsule in the sky, supported by parachutes.
The capsule was supported by four main parachutes.(NASA/Keegan Barber Handout via Reuters)
A space capsule in the sky, supported by parachutes nears the ocean.
The capsule reaches the ocean.(NASA/Keegan Barber Handout via Reuters)
A space capsule supported by parachutes splashes into the ocean.
The capsule splashes down.(NASA/Keegan Barber Handout via Reuters)
The crew was back on Earth, off Florida's Gulf Coast, under blue skies.
As they awaited pick-up, two dolphins approached the bobbing capsule.
It was among the first of many welcome-backs to Earth.
Stranded in space
It was meant to be an eight-day test mission.
Wilmore and Williams were tasked with orbiting the planet in the ISS for about a week, with the goal of showing Boeing's Starliner was ready to carry astronauts to and from the space station.
Their experience suggests it wasn't.
A spacecraft is blasting off from a launchpad with loads of smoke underneath
The Starliner test flight departed on June 5, 2024. (Reuters: Joe Skipper)
The pair, both former US Navy test pilots, lifted off on June 5 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
But it soon became apparent plans would need to change.
As their capsule attempted to dock with the ISS, five of its 28 thrusters overheated and shut down. Helium leaks sprang up as the result of a faulty rubber seal.
Wilmore and Williams were grounded, so to speak, as crews back home gathered data and struggled to find a fix.
Still, they remained optimistic the embattled Starliner spacecraft would eventually carry them home.
"I have a real good feeling in my heart that this spacecraft will bring us home, no problem," Williams said during a news conference in July, more than a month after she arrived on the ISS.
"That mantra you've heard, 'failure is not an option', that's why we are staying here now," Wilmore added.
"We trust that the tests that we're doing are the ones we need to do to get the right answers, to give us the data that we need to come back."
A man and a woman in blue spacesuits pose for a photo, smiling.
Williams and Wilmore believed they would be gone for just over a week.(AP: Chris O'Meara)
Every astronaut NASA sends to space is taught not to focus on when they're coming home.
It was training Wilmore and Williams would need to lean on as return dates were repeatedly pushed back.
"This situation that we've ended up in is something that our paths have prepared us for from day one," Wilmore told The New York Times in an interview from the ISS.
"I mean, we came into the military, both of us, as young fledglings, and we started in some very challenging scenarios.
"And those things truly prepared us to compartmentalise, to set things aside … that really, if I can't affect something, why would I fret over it or worry about it, or something?"
In the meantime, the pair made the most of their time in space.
They'd both previously spent stints in the orbiting lab and were enjoying the opportunity to help the station crew with repairs and research.
Williams cracked a spacewalking record, notching a career total of 62 hours as she carried out work on the station and collected samples for analysis.
A male and female astronaut fixing equipment on the international space station
In this photo provided by NASA, Wilmore and Williams inspect safety hardware aboard the International Space Station. (NASA via AP))
An astronaut in a white space suit is tethered to a metal railing. Hardware is seen all around them
Suni Williams is seen outside the International Space Station during a January 16 spacewalk.(Supplied: NASA)
In August, a supply ship carrying clothes, food and science experiments for the nine-person crew arrived.
Until then, Williams and Wilmore had been forced to rely on spare outfits already in the lab, after their suitcases were removed from the Starliner to make room for equipment.
While the astronauts said they accepted the unexpected extension to their journey, they noted the impact on their loved ones back home.
"They were expecting us to just be gone for a little while and then gone for a little longer time than that," Williams told The New York Times.
"You know, making sure the grass is cut, you know, just the simple things, but also the really important things, like when natural disasters hit our hometown. So I think it's been a little more difficult for them.
"My hat's off to my family, Butch's family, for just, you know, marching through it. This is not necessarily their job."
Wilmore's wife, Deanna, was left to hold down the fort, with their eldest daughter in college and youngest in her last year of high school.
Williams's husband Mike cared for their two dogs, but she said her mother was the true worrier.
Coming home
The SpaceX flight that became the duo's ticket home was supposed to depart in February.
But it was delayed until March 26 because SpaceX needed more time "to complete processing" of a new Dragon capsule.
This appeared to miff US President Donald Trump, who made a point of publicly asking SpaceX CEO and political ally Elon Musk to "go get" them in January.
So NASA swapped the delayed SpaceX capsule with a different one that would be ready sooner.
The new launch date was set for March 12, meaning Williams and Wilmore would get home more than a week earlier than planned.
But they faced another delay.
On Wednesday, a last-minute issue with a ground support clamp arm for the Falcon 9 rocket meant the launch mission was put on hold for two days.
Bad weather forecast for the rocket's flight path meant Thursday was out.
So NASA settled on Friday.
At 7:03pm eastern time, Space X's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off, carrying four astronauts to replace Williams, Wilmore and two others on the ISS.
On board were Americans Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, Japan's Takuya Onishi and Russia's Kirill Peskov.
Kirill Peskov, Nichole Ayers, Anne McClain and Takuya Onishi smile while wearing padded white suits and helmets
Kirill Peskov, Nichole Ayers, Anne McClain and Takuya Onishi have replaced the returned crew members. (SpaceX)
Eleven people waving towards the camera on the International Space Station
For a short time, there were 11 crew members aboard the ISS. (NASA)
They approached the station late on Saturday night, finally arriving at 12:04am on Sunday.
But before they could board, they had to conduct standard leak checks and wait for pressurisation between the spacecraft and the station.
At 1:35am, the hatches between the ISS and the craft that would return Williams and Wilmore home finally opened.
There were a lot of smiles — no doubt helped by an alien mask brought out to greet the new arrivals — as the crew climbed through the hatch.
With the foursome's arrival, there were now 11 people on board the ISS.
But it wasn't a matter of switching seats, closing the hatches and pushing off — it would still be two days before the departing crew members flew home.
Williams and Wilmore and their fellow ISS housemates Alexander Gorbunov and Nick Hague finally said their goodbyes late on Monday night.
Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, Aleksandr Gorbunov and Suni Williams smile and embrace for photos
Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, Aleksandr Gorbunov and Suni Williams before boarding the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.(NASA)
They closed the hatch at 11:05pm, but two hours would pass until they departed.
Finally, at 1:05am on Tuesday, they undocked.
"It was a privilege to call the station home," Hague said as the craft left the station.
"To our colleagues and dear friends who remain on the station … we know the station's in great hands.
"We're excited to see what you guys are going to accomplish and we'll be waiting for you.
"Crew-9 is going home."
Back on the ISS a bell was rung to formally farewell the four — a naval tradition honoured by those who venture into space.
After a few departure burns put enough distance between the shuttle and the station, the 17-hour journey home began.
The four were able to change out of their suits to get more comfortable, have a meal and settle in for some rest as pre-programmed manoeuvrers kicked in.
Back on Earth, preparations for the splashdown were underway.
All eyes were on the ocean off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico.
The splashdown site would be somewhere near Tallahassee.
With clear skies and calm seas, it was a simple matter of getting the collection vessels ready to fish the vessel out of the water.
An hour before splashdown, the shuttle's solar-panel-clad trunk was cast off.
Then came the deorbit burn.
Then the parachutes.
And then there wasn't much else to do but watch as Dragon approached the dark blue sea.
At 5:57pm, local time, the craft landed safely in the water.
Whoops and claps rang out in the command centre as footage of the splash was streamed around the world.
'What a ride'
Bobbing in the ocean, the astronauts were greeted with a simple, wholesome line from the SpaceX control centre:
"On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home."
"What a ride," Hague replied.
"I see a capsule full of grins ear to ear."
But just like how passengers cannot exit a plane immediately after it lands, the crew had to sit and wait for the recovery team to arrive on speed boats to complete the first set of safety checks and retrieve the parachutes.
About 30 minutes later, a recovery ship hoisted the capsule onto its main deck.
A space capsule bobs in the ocean.
Support teams work around the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft shortly after it landed.(NASA/Keegan Barber/ Handout via Reuters)
A space capsule is brought aboard a ship in the ocean.
The capsule was brought aboard a recovery vessel.(NASA/Keegan Barber/ Handout via Reuters)
A woman jumps off a space capsule as it's brought aboard a ship.
The splashdown was considered textbook.(NASA/Keegan Barber/ Handout via Reuters)
On deck, the side hatch was opened to reveal the Crew-9 members sitting, held to their seats by gravity once again.
Commander Hague was the first out, giving a wave and thumbs up while being helped onto a stretcher, which is standard procedure for all crew members returning from space.
Then followed Russia's Alexander Gorbunov, who had been on board the ISS since September.
And then came those who'd waited the longest, Suni and Butch, who have become household names.
As they departed the spacecraft, they were all smiles and waved repeatedly to the camera — pure joy stretched across their faces.
Suni Williams smiles and gives a thumbs up while lying in a stretcher wearing a white padded suit and helmet
Suni Williams spent about nine months in space. (AP: NASA/Keegan Barber)
Nick Hague with his thumbs up as he is stretchered into the medical bay after coming off the capsule
Commander Nick Hague was the first astronaut out of the capsule.(Reuters: NASA/Keegan Barber)
Alexander Gorbunov smiles and waves while sitting on a stretcher wearing a white padded suit and helmet
Alexander Gorbunov had been on the ISS since September.(Reuters: NASA/Keegan Barber)
Butch Wilmore smiles while lying on a stretcher wearing a white padded suit and helmet
Butch Wilmore will have to spend the next few weeks readjusting to Earth. (AP: NASA/Keegan Barber)
They were finally home.
Suni and Butch's plight certainly captured the world's attention, giving new meaning to the phrase "stuck at work".
They circled Earth 4,576 times and travelled 195 million kilometres by the time of splashdown.
They were set to reunite with their families within 48 hours of being cleared medically.
Their 286-day mission was finally complete.