Two NASA astronauts who spent more than 280 days aboard the International Space Station undocked from the ISS early on Tuesday, kicking off their long-awaited return journey. The big picture: Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams have been in a galactic holding pattern hundreds of miles above the Earth's surface after boarding the ISS in June 2024 as part of the Boeing Starliner's first crewed test flight.

NASA will wait at least another two days to launch its next space station crew, delaying the return of Starliner astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita Williams a bit longer.

NASA’s two stuck astronauts headed back to Earth with SpaceX on Tuesday to close out a dramatic marathon mission that began with a bungled Boeing test flight more than nine months ago. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams bid farewell to the International Space Station — their home since last spring — departing aboard a SpaceX capsule alongside two other astronauts.