Stranded astronauts have just returned to a very different world

Perhaps it was just an accident of scheduling that meant Butch and Suni were brought back to Earth on a SpaceX capsule called Freedom.

The test pilots were supposed to have just a brief stopover on the International Space Station (ISS) but ended up staying for nine months.

Christmas, birthdays, and those big family moments - all missed as they whizzed around the planet at 17,500mph.

But the choice of capsule - there are several in the Crew Dragon fleet - could also have been deliberate.

Donald Trump has described this - falsely - as a "rescue" mission of two astronauts "virtually abandoned" by the Biden administration.

So selecting the Freedom capsule could fit that narrative.

You wouldn't put it past the White House First Buddy and SpaceX chief Elon Musk joining his boss in having another dig.

As it happened: 'Wonderful' reunion ahead for astronauts

In fact, this was a routine crew changeover. The capsule the astronauts returned in has been parked up at the ISS for the last six months.

But this is the political maelstrom that Butch and Suni have been caught up in. A space mission that seems to have collided at times with an alternative universe.

For 25 years the ISS has risen above Earthly politics. Russians have lived and worked alongside crew from the US, Europe, Canada and Japan - collaborating in space even when tensions have been high down below.

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In a recent news conference from the space station, Butch and Suni appeared alongside their commander beneath a string of flags of all the nations that have made the ISS possible.

A symbol of unity. But it's domestic American politics that has jolted the crew.

They'll want their mission to be remembered for the science they did in orbit, the spacewalks by Suni and their engagement with schools that might inspire astronauts of the future.

But there are bigger forces at play.

Musk wants the space station to crash and burn in the atmosphere earlier than planned, and the president has appointed Janet Petro to be the NASA chief.

Add in Trump's vitriol of the Biden administration, and Butch and Suni may not get to tell the story of their mission their way.

(c) Sky News 2025: Stranded astronauts have just returned to a very different world