News crews observing the splashdown of the SpaceX capsule carrying NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams — and Russian cosmonaut Aleks Gorbunov — noticed that Crew-9 was being greeted by the locals shortly after they hit the water.
A post on X from NASA’s Johnson Space Center included video of a pod of curious dolphins approaching the craft after it landed in the water off Florida’s gulf coast, leaping out of the water nearby as crews approached to aid the astronauts.
“The unplanned welcome crew! Crew-9 had some surprise visitors after splashing down this afternoon,” the caption read.
The unplanned welcome crew!
Crew-9 had some surprise visitors after splashing down this afternoon.🐬 pic.twitter.com/yuOxtTsSLV
— NASA’s Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) March 18, 2025
In the video, a female voice was describing some of the safety checks and…
