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       KENNEDY CENTER: A pair of astronauts stranded for more than nine months on the International Space Station were a step closer to returning home on Sunday after a replacement crew docked with the orbital outpost.

       The astronauts were shown on live TV embracing and hugging their counterparts in zero gravity on the space station shortly after their SpaceX Crew Dragon arrived at 0545 GMT.

       Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been stuck aboard the ISS since June after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were testing on its maiden crewed voyage suffered propulsion issues and was deemed unfit to fly them back to Earth.

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       William said it was a “wonderful day” and “great to see our friends arrive,” speaking shortly after her colleges emerged onto the orbital lab. Footage posted online by Nasa astronaut Don Pettit showed the Crew Dragon vehicle approaching the ISS as it orbited the Earth.

       The Nasa duo’s Starliner had returned to Earth empty, without experiencing further major issues — leaving them stuck for nine months after what was meant to have been a days-long roundtrip.

       Their prolonged stay was significantly longer than the standard ISS rotation for astronauts of roughly six months. But it is much shorter than the US space record of 371 days set by Nasa astronaut Frank Rubio aboard the ISS in 2023, or the world record held by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437 continuous days aboard the Mir space station.

       Still, the unexpected nature of their stint away from their families — they had to receive additional clothing and personal care items because they hadn’t packed enough — garnered interest and sympathy around the world.

       Wilmore and Williams will now begin preparing for departure and their ocean splashdown off the Florida coast, no sooner than March 19. Along with the pair, Nasa astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will also be aboard the returning Dragon capsule.

       Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2025