NASA Starliner astronauts begin 17-hour journey to splashdown off Florida coast after delays

(CAPE CANAVERAL, FL) — The two NASA astronauts whose return to Earth was delayed for months are on their way home.

Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore left the International Space Station on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft early on Tuesday and began an about 17-hour journey toward a splashdown off the Florida coast.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov were also onboard the craft as it undocked at about 1:05 a.m. ET.

Williams and Wilmore had in June 2024 performed the first astronaut-crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule. What was expected to be a weeklong trip to the ISS instead turned into a nine-month stay. The Boeing Starliner that was expected to carry them home after about 10 days experienced issues, leaving the pair at the station for months.

Their return spacecraft early on Tuesday maneuvered in space, moving above and behind the station, before firing a series of departure burns that sent it back toward Earth.

NASA said it expected the return trip to end at about 5:57 p.m., when the Dragon is scheduled to splash down off the Florida coast.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

ABC News’ Matthew Glasser and Mary Kekatos contributed to this report.