Chiranjeevi and R Madhavan praised Sunita Williams for her indomitable spirit.

After the SpaceX capsule carrying Sunita Williams and her colleague Butch Willmore splashed down off the Florida coast, Indian film celebrities celebrated the homecoming of the Indian-American astronaut.

Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico in the early evening, just hours after departing the International Space Station. Splashdown occurred off the coast of Tallahassee in the Florida Panhandle, bringing their unplanned odyssey to an end.

“Historic and heroic home coming. Went for 8 days to space and returned after 286 days. Your story is the greatest adventure ever,” wrote Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi on X.

Sunita William and Butch Willmore were expected to be gone just a week or so after launching on Boeing’s new Starliner crew capsule on June 5, 2024. The space mission got extended due to a technical glitch. Her SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico, just hours after departing the ISS.

“Welcome back to Earth dear Sunita Williams. So wonderful to see you safe and smiling,” wrote actor R Madhavan. “Our prayers have been answered.”

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So many problems cropped up on the way to the space station that NASA eventually sent Starliner back empty and transferred the test pilots to SpaceX, pushing their homecoming into February.

Actor Priyanka Chopra said, “Sunita Williams is proving once again that sky isn’t the limit.” Jackie Shroff lauded Sunita Williams’ exceptional spirit. “Enduring nine months in space demands exceptional patience, unwavering resilience, and indomitable spirit of discovery,” he wrote.