Crew-9 splashdown in Gulf of America: Astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore back on Earth

NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are back on Earth. NASA and SpaceX's Crew-9 mission successfully splashed down into the Gulf of America, off the Florida Coast on Tuesday evening. It comes nearly 10 months after Williams and Wilmore launched to the International Space Station aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.

Watch again: Crew-9 splashes down off Florida's coast

Here is the moment that SpaceX's Dragon capsule deployed the iconic parachutes that helped guide the capsule to a successful splashdown off of Florida's coast, near Tallahasee.

What time did Crew-9 return to Earth?

Crew-9 splashed down around 5:57 p.m. after a 17-hour journey from the International Space Station, NASA said.

Who was aboard Crew-9?

There were four astronauts part of the Crew-9 mission:

• NASA astronaut Suni Williams
• NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore
• NASA astronaut Nick Hague
• Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov

Who is Suni Williams? Who is Butch Wilmore?

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are two NASA astronauts. Both were part of the inaugural mission of Boeing's Starliner to the International Space Station. Boeing's Starliner experienced issues before, during, and after successfully arriving at the ISS, mainly hydrogen issues.

Boeing's Starliner eventually left the ISS and returned to Earth uncrewed – meaning, without Williams or Wilmore due to safety concerns. Starliner made it back to Earth successfully and without issue, officials said.

Williams and Wilmore then joined SpaceX's Crew-9 mission. Their planned week-long mission became a nearly 10-month-long stay aboard the ISS.

Suni Williams became an astronaut in 1998. She is married to her husband, Michael. Both of them have dogs, according to her official NASA bio.

Butch Wilmore has been part of three spaceflights, including Russian Soyuz  in 2014 and space shuttle Atlantis in 2009. He is married to Former Miss Deanna Newport. The two share two children.

Dolphins welcome Crew-9 back

In a surprising moment, a small pod of dolphins appeared to show some curiosity at SpaceX's Crew-9 Dragon capsule. NASA and Space's broadcasters noted that there were a number of broadcasters swimming in the area of the capsule and the recovery teams.