SpaceX has recently achieved several significant milestones in spacecraft landings and returns. On March 18, 2025, the Crew-9 mission safely returned NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to Earth. After spending nine months aboard the International Space Station due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner, their SpaceX Dragon “Freedom” capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida at 5:57 p.m. EDT.
Notably, upon their return, a pod of dolphins surrounded the capsule, offering a unique and playful welcome.
In a separate development, on November 19, 2024, SpaceX conducted Starship’s sixth flight test. While the mission experienced some challenges, including a loss of communication with the launch tower, it marked the first time Starship landed from space during daylight hours, with the spacecraft performing a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
For a detailed view of the Crew-9 return, you can watch NASA’s coverage of the event: