After NASA’s Crew-10 mission and SpaceX arrived at the ISS to retrieve stranded astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, NASA revealed their return date and confirmed the ocean splashdown time.
Sunita Williams and Crewmate Set to Return After Nine Months in Space
NASA announced that the two astronauts, stranded in space for over nine months due to technical issues with their Starliner capsul. Will return on Tuesday evening (March 18).
NASA stated that the astronauts’ ocean splashdown is expected off the Florida coast around 5:57 PM on Tuesday (2157 GMT, 3:30 AM IST on March 19), after previously being set for Wednesday.
america nasa stated that the revised return schedule allows the space station. crew to complete handover tasks while ensuring flexibility before unfavorable weather conditions later in the week.
The astronauts will come back home aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon craft. Which arrived on Sunday and successfully completed the docking process at 12:04 am ET (9:34 am Indian time). Along with an American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut.
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On March 14, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was carrying four astronauts who would take the place of Wilmore and Williams.
The two astronauts have been on the ISS since June 2024 after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft suffered propulsion issues and was deemed to be unfit to fly back to Earth.
NASA further stated that it will be live streaming SpaceX Crew-9’s return to Earth. The coverage will start with Dragon spacecraft hatch closure preparations. Which will take place at 10:45 pm EDT on Monday (March 17).
Williams and Wilmore’s stay at the ISS exceeded the planned six months but fell short of breaking records. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio holds the U.S. record with 371 days in space (2023). While Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov set the world record with 437 days on the Mir space station.
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