Amaravathi (Andhra Pradesh) [India], March 19 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Chintakayala Ayyannapatrudu on Wednesday extended a warm welcome to Sunita Williams after her return from the extended expedition in space on March 18 aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as part of NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

Speaking in the Assembly as part of the 14th-day budget session, Speaker Ayyannapatrudu stated, 'Sunita Williams successfully returned to Earth early this morning. Having spent 286 days in space on this mission, this marks her third spaceflight, bringing her total time spent in space to 608 days, a remarkable achievement.'

The Speaker praised space exploration as an inspiration for all of humanity and commended Sunita Williams for her dedication to 'scientific research, perseverance, and exceptional courage in facing extreme challenges, even at the risk of her life.'

He emphasized that such missions play a crucial role in the continuous progress of humankind.

Earlier, NASA Crew-9 astronauts breathed earthly air for the first time in over nine months following the successful splashdown of SpaceX's Dragon capsule. The astronauts disembarked the capsule on stretchers, as is customary, CNN reported. This precaution is taken by SpaceX for all astronauts returning from long-duration space missions.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 completed the agency's ninth commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station on Tuesday, splashing down safely in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, in the Gulf of America, according to a NASA statement.

NASA Crew-9 astronauts Sunita Williams, Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov breathed earthly air for the first time in over nine months on Wednesday after the successful splashdown of SpaceX's Dragon capsule.

Delays caused by issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which surfaced during a test flight piloted by Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams last summer, led to the astronaut duo remaining in space for nine months instead of a week, CNN reported.

The Crew-9 mission was the fourth flight of the Dragon spacecraft named Freedom, which previously supported NASA's SpaceX Crew-4, Axiom Mission 2, and Axiom Mission 3. The spacecraft will now undergo inspection and refurbishment at SpaceX's Cape Canaveral facility for future missions. (ANI)