NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams returned to Earth on Tuesday after more than 280 days in space. Their water landing, which came after about a 17-hour voyage, is something of a storybook ending to the Starliner saga that has captivated the nation and recently become the subject of political posturing.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will finally get their first breath of fresh Earth air after their roughly nine-day test flight stretched into a controversial monthslong journey.