NASA's two stuck astronauts are finally closing in on their return to Earth after 9 months in space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s two stuck astronauts are just a few weeks away from finally returning to Earth after nine months in space.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have to wait until their replacements arrive at the International Space Station next week before they can check out later this month.

They’ll be joined on their SpaceX ride home by two astronauts who launched by themselves in September alongside two empty seats.

Speaking from the space station on Tuesday, Williams said the hardest part about the unexpected extended stay was the wait by their families back home.

“It’s been a roller coaster for them, probably a little more so than for us," she said.

Wilmore and Williams expected to be gone just a week or so when they launched last June aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule, making its crew debut after years of delay. The Starliner had so many problems getting to the space station that NASA ruled it too dangerous to carry anyone and it flew back empty.

Their homecoming was further delayed by extra completion time needed for the brand new SpaceX capsule that was supposed to deliver their replacements.

Last month, NASA announced the next crew would launch in a used capsule instead, pushing up liftoff to March 12. The two crews will spend about a week together aboard the space station before Wilmore and Williams depart with NASA’s Nick Hague and the Russian Space Agency’s Alexander Gorbunov.

Wilmore and Williams — retired Navy captains and repeat space fliers — have insisted over the months that they are healthy and committed to the mission as long as it takes. They took a spacewalk together in January.

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