WATCH: Dolphins 'welcome' Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore on Earth in magical moment from NASA splashdown

A magical moment became the concluding point of the process of NASA astronauts' safe arrival back on Earth. The moment SpaceX capsule carrying Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams splashed down off the coast of Florida, they were welcomed by a pod of dolphins.

The capsule detached from the orbital outpost at 0505 GMT, with American Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov besides NASA duo - Wilmore and Williams. They were stuck at the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months.

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As the astronauts waited for the recovery team to pull the SpaceX capsule from the water, the pod of dolphins began swimming around it.

The crew's capsule was checked and hoisted onto a boat, while dolphins swam around both the capsule and the recovery team in the water."

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Their homecoming completes a lengthy space mission that was full of uncertainty and technical issues, making a rare example of NASA's contingency planning.

Starliner’s first crew, Wilmore and Williams, two senior NASA astronauts and former US Navy test pilots, had gone into orbit in June for an anticipated eight-day test trip.

NASA decided to have them come home this year on a SpaceX craft. It was part of the agency's crew rotation programme after problems with Starliner's propulsion system caused a series of delays.

(With inputs from agencies)