SpaceX rescues NASA astronauts stranded on ISS for 9 months over 'political reasons'

The two astronauts that NASA assured us weren't stranded aboard the ISS, but just didn't have a viable means of transportation back to Earth, have finally touched back down on our home planet after nine months of being aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Sunita "Suni" Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore took up Boeing's Starliner capsule to the ISS on June 5, and prior to launch and on the journey there, leaks were detected from the vessel. The leaks were helium, the fuel for the capsule, and after safely making it to the ISS to begin their week-long stay it was determined by NASA the capsule didn't meet the safety standards for a return journey.

The stay aboard the ISS extended from one week to nine months, with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently stating the situation with the ISS turned into a political football for the Biden administration as SpaceX offered to bring the astronauts back home early but was denied as the Biden administration didn't want "anyone who is supporting Trump [to] look good," according to Musk. However, Suni and Butch finally made it back home with the help of SpaceX's Dragon capsule, which also transported fellow astronauts Nick Hauge and Aleksandr Gorbunov, a cosmonaut with Russia's federal corporation Roscomos.

The four crew members splashed down safely at 5:57 p.m. EDT (2157 GMT) off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida in the Gulf of America/Mexico.

• Read more: SpaceX's offer to rescue stranded NASA astronauts early was rejected for 'political reasons'