In this photo provided by NASA, Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams pose for a portrait inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station's Harmony module and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 13, 2024. (NASA via AP, File)2025-03-17T15:25:56Z CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were barely known outside space circles when they strapped in for what was supposed to be a quick test flight of Boeings Starliner capsule last June. Nine months later, theyve captured the worlds attention and hearts as NASAs stuck astronauts.Their homecoming is imminent now that a new crew has arrived at the International Space Station to replace them after launching from Florida last week. Theyll fly back with SpaceX as soon as Tuesday, their problem-plagued Starliner having returned to Earth empty months ago, leaving them behind in orbit. Heres a look at Suni and Butch and their drama-filled mission: Who are the stuck astronauts?The two test pilots came to NASA via the Navy. Wilmore, 62, played high school and college football in his home state of Tennessee before joining the Navy. Williams, 59, grew up in Needham, Massachusetts, a competitive swimmer and distance runner. Wilmore racked up 663 aircraft carrier landings, while Williams served in combat helicopter squadrons. NASA picked Williams as an astronaut in 1998 followed by Wilmore in 2000. Each had two spaceflights behind them including monthslong stints at the space station before signing up as Starliners first crew. While they accepted their repeated homecoming delays, they noted it was much harder on their families. Wilmores wife Deanna has held down the fort, according to her husband. Their oldest daughter is in college and their youngest in her last year of high school. Williams husband, Mike, a retired federal marshal, has been caring for their two Labrador retrievers. She said her mother is the worrier. What are the stuck astronauts looking forward to on Earth?Besides reuniting with loved ones, Wilmore, an elder with his Baptist church, cant wait to get back to face-to-face ministering and smelling fresh-cut grass. Wilmore kept in touch with members of his congregation over the months, taking part in occasional prayer services and calling ailing members via the space stations internet phone. Williams looks forward to long walks with her dogs and an ocean swim.Several other astronauts have spent even longer in space so no special precautions should be needed for these two once theyre back, according to NASA.Every astronaut that launches into space, we teach them dont think about when youre coming home. Think about how well your missions going and if youre lucky, you might get to stay longer, NASAs space operations mission chief and former astronaut Ken Bowersox said last week. Why were the stuck astronauts in a political dust-up? Wilmore and Williams found themselves in the middle of a political storm when President Donald Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced at the end of January they would accelerate the astronauts return and blamed the Biden Administration on keeping them up there too long. NASA officials stood by their decision to wait for the next scheduled SpaceX flight to bring them home, targeting a February return. But their replacements got held up back on Earth because of battery work on their brand new SpaceX capsule. SpaceX switched capsules to speed things up, moving up their return by a couple of weeks. The two will come back in the capsule thats been up there since last fall.Its great to see how much people care about our astronauts, Bowersox said, describing the pair as professional, devoted, committed, really outstanding. Why did the stuck astronauts switch space taxis? Astronauts almost always fly back in the same spacecraft they launched in. Wilmore and Williams launched aboard Boeings Starliner and will return in SpaceXs Dragon. Their first flights were aboard NASAs space shuttle, followed by Russias Soyuz capsule. Both the Starliner and Dragon are completely autonomous but capable of manual command if necessary. As test pilots, they were in charge of the Starliner. The Dragon had fellow astronaut Nick Hague in command; he launched in it last September with a Russian and two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams. Whats the future of Boeings Starliner? Starliner almost didnt make it to the space station. Soon after the June 5 liftoff, helium leaked and thrusters malfunctioned on the way to the orbiting lab.NASA and Boeing spent the summer trying to figure out what went wrong and whether the problems would repeat on the flight back, endangering its two test pilots. NASA ultimately decided it was too risky and ordered the capsule back empty in September. Engineers are still investigating the thruster breakdowns, and its unclear when Starliner will fly again with astronauts or just cargo. NASA went into its commercial crew program wanting two competing U.S. companies for taxi service for redundancys sake and stand by that choice.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.