Indian origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, along with two other astronauts, Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore, and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, finally returned to Earth safely at around 3:30 AM IST on March 19. Their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft landed in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, USA. Sunita and her colleagues traveled 121,347,491 miles in 286 days in space.
Tollywood Megastar Chiranjeevi gave a heroic welcome to Sunita Williams and her colleagues. Taking to X, Chiru wrote, “WELCOME BACK TO EARTH Sunita Williams & Butch Wilmore!! HISTORIC & HEROIC ‘HOME’ COMING!!! Went for 8 Days to Space & Returned after 286 Days, after an Astonishing 4577 orbits around earth!,” the Megastar posted.
Chiru went on to hail Sunita Williams, saying, “Your Story is Unmatchably Dramatic, Utterly Nerve – Wracking , Unbelievably Nail Baiting Thriller & The Greatest Adventure Ever. A True Blue Blockbuster!! More Power To You!!! @Astro_Suni.” Meanwhile, upon Sunita Williams’ return, a yagna and firecracker celebrations were performed at her ancestral village, Jhulasan, in India’s Gujarat. The villagers gathered at a village temple to watch the event live on a television with bated breath.
WELCOME BACK TO EARTH 🌏
Sunita Williams & Butch Wilmore !! 🙏HISTORIC & HEROIC ‘HOME’ COMING!!!
Went for 8 Days to Space & Returned after 286 Days, after an Astonishing 4577 orbits around earth !Your Story is Unmatchably Dramatic, Utterly Nerve – Wracking , Unbelievably…
— Chiranjeevi Konidela (@KChiruTweets) March 19, 2025