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.

After a more than nine-month trip on the International Space Station, Williams and Wilmore splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, late Tuesday afternoon. They were accompanied by NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.