Rescued NASA astronauts facing weeks of gruelling gravity rehab

ASTRONAUTS Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams face weeks of recovery after returning safely from their unexpected nine-month stay in space.

- By Christopher Bucktin US Editor

The stranded NASA duo splashed down off the coast of Florida on Tuesday evening after a 17-hour journey on a SpaceX capsule.

In calm sea conditions they were welcomed back to Earth by a pod of dolphins as well as a recovery ship.

The pair were then taken for medical checks along with fellow returning astronauts NASA'S Nick Hague and Russian Aleksandr Gorbunov.

Butch, 62, and Suni, 59, were only due to be on board the International Space Station for eight days.