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.

The two, along with fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, splashed down in the Atlantic off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, at 3:57 MDT Tuesday. NASA moved the return flight up a day to bring the crew back ahead of an anticipated weather system headed for the Florida coast.