Two NASA astronauts “stranded” onboard the International Space Station (ISS) since last June are finally set to return to Earth after spending over nine months in space, following a reported failure of a Starliner capsule forced an extended stay in orbit from what was originally scheduled for a week-long mission.

According to reports, a  SpaceX Dragon capsule containing four astronauts, including Starliner’s test pilots Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, undocked from the orbiting outpost at 1.05 am on Tuesday and is expected to land off the Florida coast at about 6 pm after a 17-hour descent.

Williams and Wilmore arrived at the ISS on June 6, 2024, and were expecting to stay approximately 10 days to evaluate Starliner’s docking and operational capabilities during its first crewed flight.

However, a series of technical issues and safety fears led NASA and Boeing to send the capsule back to Earth empty in September and extend the pair’s stay by making them crew members onboard the space station in place of two other astronauts still on the ground who were reassigned to other future missions, as Per the Guardian.