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The astronauts who returned today, March 18, 2025, were Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. They were in space for approximately 287 days, from June 5, 2024, when they launched, to their return on March 18, 2025. Their mission, originally planned for 8–10 days, stretched into over nine months due to issues with their spacecraft.
Duration
Launch: June 5, 2024.

Return: March 18, 2025.

Total Time: 287 days (calculated as June 5, 2024, to March 18, 2025, inclusive). This aligns with reports noting "more than nine months" or "nearly 300 days" depending on exact landing time, though NASA pegged it closer to 270–287 days in various updates.

Why They Were Trapped
They weren’t "trapped" in the dramatic sense—NASA stresses they were safe and integrated into the International Space Station (ISS) crew—but their return was delayed due to technical problems with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which they rode to the ISS:
Helium Leaks: Starliner suffered multiple helium leaks in its propulsion system during the trip to the ISS. Helium pressurizes fuel for the thrusters, and leaks raised safety concerns.

Thruster Failures: Several reaction control thrusters malfunctioned as it approached the ISS, critical for maneuvering and re-entry. Testing couldn’t fully resolve the root cause.

NASA’s Decision: After months of analysis, NASA deemed Starliner too risky for a crewed return. On August 24, 2024, they decided it would come back empty (it did so on September 6, 2024), and Wilmore and Williams would hitch a ride with SpaceX instead.

What Happened Next
Extended Stay: NASA folded them into the ISS’s regular crew rotation, extending their mission. They joined Expedition 71, with Williams even commanding the station from September 2024.

SpaceX Rescue: SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission (launched September 28, 2024) reserved seats for them, but their return was delayed further. Crew-10 (launched March 14, 2025) finally arrived on March 16, allowing Crew-9—including Wilmore and Williams—to depart on March 18 aboard the Dragon capsule Freedom.

Delays: The Crew-10 launch slipped from March 12 to March 14 due to a hydraulic issue with the Falcon 9 and weather, pushing their return from an earlier February target to mid-March.

Context
Their 287 days isn’t a record—Frank Rubio spent 371 days in 2023 after a Soyuz failure—but it’s far longer than planned. The delay stemmed from Starliner’s first crewed test flight hitting snags, spotlighting Boeing’s struggles against SpaceX’s reliability. They stayed busy with research and maintenance, but the wait tested NASA’s contingency planning, not their survival.
So, 287 days, caused by Starliner’s propulsion woes, resolved by SpaceX stepping in.