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NASA announces Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore's return date to Earth

ANI March 17, 2025 84 views

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally returning to Earth after an unexpected nine-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Their journey home will be via a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, with live coverage starting Monday evening. The mission experienced multiple delays due to technical issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. NASA and SpaceX have carefully planned the return, monitoring weather conditions to ensure a safe splashdown off Florida's coast.

"NASA will provide live coverage of the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 return to Earth" - NASA Official Statement
Washington, DC, March 17: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, stranded at the International Space Station for over nine months, will return to Earth on Tuesday evening, NASA announced in a statement.

Key Points

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NASA and SpaceX confirmed Tuesday evening return

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Spacecraft will splash down off Florida coast

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Mission spans nine months of unexpected extension

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Live coverage begins Monday at 10:45 pm EDT

Williams and Wilmore are scheduled to travel back to Earth alongside Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.

NASA will provide live coverage of the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 return to Earth from the International Space Station, beginning with Dragon spacecraft hatch closure preparations at 10:45 pm EDT on Monday. NASA and SpaceX met on Sunday to assess weather and splashdown conditions off Florida's coast for the return of the agency's Crew-9 mission from the International Space Station.

In a statement, NASA stated, "NASA will provide live coverage of the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 return to Earth from the International Space Station, beginning with Dragon spacecraft hatch closure preparations at 10:45 p.m. EDT Monday, March 17."

"NASA and SpaceX met on Sunday to assess weather and splashdown conditions off Florida's coast for the return of the agency's Crew-9 mission from the International Space Station. Mission managers are targeting an earlier Crew-9 return opportunity based on favorable conditions forecasted for the evening of Tuesday, March 18," it added.

According to a NASA statement, the updated return target continues to allow the space station crew members time to complete handover duties while providing operational flexibility before less-favourable weather conditions are expected later in the week.

Mission managers will continue monitoring weather conditions in the area, as Dragon's undocking relies on several factors, including spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors. NASA and SpaceX will confirm the specific splashdown location closer to the Crew-9 return, according to the statement.

https://x.com/Commercial_Crew/status/1901422933366456607

SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov docked with International Space Station, Space X CEO Elon Musk announced on Sunday.

On Friday, SpaceX and NASA launched a mission to bring back US astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the ISS, where they have been stranded for nine months. The lift-off took place at 7:03 ET on Friday, with a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon spacecraft on the Crew-10 mission.

The launch came after US President Donald Trump urged Elon Musk to rescue the stranded astronauts sooner than NASA had planned. He has repeatedly accused former US President Joe Biden of abandoning them in space.

Wilmore and Williams have been stranded on the ISS for nine months after reaching there in June last year. They were supposed to stay there for about a week. The astronauts were transported from Earth to the ISS aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.

However, the spacecraft came back to Earth unmanned in September. This came after NASA and Boeing identified "helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters" on June 6 as Starliner approached the space station.

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