'Stranded astronauts' Butch and Suni set to begin journey home

After an epic nine months in space, Nasa astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally on their way home.

Their stay on the International Space Station (ISS) was only supposed to last eight days, but their mission was dramatically extended after the spacecraft that they arrived on suffered technical problems.

The pair are travelling back to Earth in a SpaceX capsule along with Nasa astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

They undocked from the ISS at 05:05 GMT (01:05 EDT) on Tuesday and are set to splash down off the coast of Florida later the same day, at 21:57 GMT (17:57 EDT) .

The saga of Butch and Suni began in June 2024.

They were taking part in the first crewed test flight of the Starliner spacecraft, developed by aerospace company Boeing.

But the capsule suffered several technical problems during its journey to the space station, and it was deemed too risky to take the astronauts home.

Starliner returned safely to Earth empty in early September, but it meant the pair needed a new ride for their return.

So Nasa opted for the next scheduled flight: a SpaceX capsule that arrived at the ISS in late September.

It flew with two astronauts instead of four, leaving two seats spare for Butch and Suni's return. The only catch was this had a planned six month mission, extending the astronauts stay until now.

The arrival of a replacement crew on Sunday was the final step needed for Butch and Suni's return – and after a short hand over with the new team, their mission is now at an end.

The Nasa pair have embraced their longer than expected stay in space.

They've carried out an array of experiments on board the orbiting lab and conducted spacewalks, with Suni breaking the record for the woman who's spent the most hours outside of the space station.

And despite the astronauts being described as "stranded" they never really were.

Throughout their mission there have always been spacecraft attached to the space station to get them - and the rest of those onboard - home if there was an emergency.

Speaking in the weeks before their departure, Butch Wilmore said they weren't fazed when their mission was extended.

"We came up prepared to stay long, even though we plan to stay short. That's what we do in human space flight. That's what your nation's human space flight programme is all about," he said.

Suni added that she was sad this would probably be her last mission.

"I think just the fact that we're living up here, in this very unique place, gives you an amazing perspective," she said. "I don't want to lose that spark of inspiration when I leave, so I'm going to have to bottle it somehow."