Dolphins welcome Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore; viral video captivates social media users | Watch
PTC Web Desk: In a heartwarming sight, dolphins swam around the SpaceX Dragon capsule as it splashed down off the Florida coast, welcoming astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth. The two, originally on an eight-day mission, ended up spending nine months in space due to technical issues with Boeing's Starliner capsule.
The viral video of dolphins circling the capsule during its recovery has captivated social media users. US Vice President JD Vance reacted to the footage, calling it "extremely cool." Others suggested that the marine creatures were "saying hi to the astronauts" after their extended stay in space.
There are a bunch of dolphins swimming around SpaceX's Dragon capsule. They want to say hi to the Astronauts too! lol pic.twitter.com/sE9bVhgIi1 — Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) March 18, 2025
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, both former Navy pilots, were finally brought back by Elon Musk's SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which landed at 3.27 am off the Florida coast. They were joined by NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, forming the NASA/SpaceX Crew-9 team.
Their return marks the end of an unexpected ordeal that began when the Boeing Starliner capsule, meant to bring them home, suffered propulsion issues and was deemed unfit to fly. As a result, NASA reassigned them to SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission. In September, a two-member relief crew was sent instead of the usual four to make room for the stranded astronauts.
- With inputs from agencies
