NASA Says ‘Stranded Astronauts’ Couldn’t Be Brought Home Sooner Due To Money, Despite $30 Billion Budget
on Mar 20, 2025
NASA Astronauts Suni Williams And Butch Wilmore Recently Returned Home After Spending Nine Months In Space
NASA has finally explained why astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were stranded in space for nine months.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were aboard the Boeing Starliner capsule, which launched on June 5, 2024. Their mission was supposed to last just over a week at the International Space Station (ISS) before they reboarded the Starliner to return to Earth.
Their original return date was set for June 14, 2024.
But things took an unexpected turn when the Starliner began experiencing several problems. Because of this, NASA decided to bring the capsule back to Earth by remote control without Williams and Wilmore on board to ensure their safety. This left them stranded on the ISS with no way back.
After this unexpected situation, Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, began working on a new capsule to bring the two astronauts home.
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However, the process took much longer than expected. After nine months, SpaceX ended up sending a used capsule named Dragon to complete the mission.
Dragon arrived at the ISS with Crew-10 on Saturday, March 15, and Williams and Wilmore were officially brought back to Earth on Tuesday, March 18. They landed off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, in the evening.
Two days after Crew-10 arrived at the @Space_Station, Dragon and Crew-9 are set to depart on Tuesday, March 18 → https://t.co/ZZEmGU8Aar pic.twitter.com/Qrpd1Rq40j
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 17, 2025
Why Did It Take So Long To Bring Suni Williams And Butch Wilmore Back Home?
A situation like this has never happened before, which has left many people wondering why the two astronauts were stuck in space for so long.
While making sure they got home safely was the main concern, more details have come out about what caused the delays.
During a press conference before their return, NASA’s Associate Administrator for Space Operations, Ken Bowersox, explained more about why it took as long as it did.
Unfortunately, one of the main reasons for the delay was money. The Daily Mail reports that NASA’s 2024 budget was around $30 billion, but surprisingly, by the time this problem happened, there weren’t enough funds to take faster action.
The outlet reports that Bowersox recalled discussions with SpaceX about adding a mission or bringing the docked capsule home early. However, those options were ruled out “pretty quickly” due to the budget being limited after major spending in 2024.
Bowersox also addressed the widespread claims that Williams and Wilmore’s extended stay in space was due to political reasons. He stated that if any discussions took place at the White House, he was not involved and could not confirm them.
Nonetheless, it’s great to see that Suni Willams and Butch Wilmore are finally back home with their families and loved ones.
In a memorable moment during their landing, a group of dolphins even swam around them, making for a very picturesque welcome home.
You can watch the video of that below.
The unplanned welcome crew!
— NASA's Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) March 18, 2025
Crew-9 had some surprise visitors after splashing down this afternoon.🐬 pic.twitter.com/yuOxtTsSLV
