Sunita Williams' Nine-Month Space Stay Ends: NASA Confirms Tuesday Return
Sunita Williams & Butch Wilmore Set for Earth Landing Tomorrow After Prolonged ISS Mission
BNH NETWORK
New York - After spending over nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and her colleague Butch Wilmore are set to return to Earth on Tuesday evening. Their prolonged stay, originally intended as a short round trip, was extended due to propulsion issues in the Boeing Starliner spacecraft.
NASA confirmed that the duo, along with astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will be transported via SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which docked at the ISS early Sunday. The anticipated splashdown off the Florida coast is now scheduled for 5:57 p.m. EDT on March 19 (3:30 a.m. IST, March 19), ahead of earlier projections due to unfavorable weather forecasts later in the week.
“The updated return target continues to allow the space station crew members time to complete handover duties while providing operational flexibility ahead of less favorable weather conditions expected for later in the week,” NASA stated.
NASA’s Live Coverage of SpaceX Crew-9 Return
NASA announced that live coverage of the return journey will begin with hatch closure preparations at 10:45 p.m. EDT on Monday, March 17 (8:30 a.m. IST, March 18). The SpaceX Crew Dragon will then begin its descent, bringing an end to what was supposed to be a brief test mission for the Boeing Starliner.
Fact File:
- Astronauts Returning: Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, Aleksandr Gorbunov
- Spacecraft: SpaceX Crew Dragon
- Mission Duration: Over 9 months (since June 2023)
- Initial Return Plan: Boeing Starliner (abandoned due to propulsion failure)
- Scheduled Splashdown: March 19, 2025, at 5:57 p.m. EDT (3:30 a.m. IST)
- Longest Space Stay Record (USA): 371 days (Frank Rubio, 2023)
- World Record for Longest Space Stay: 437 days (Valeri Polyakov, Russia)
The Unexpected Extended Stay
Williams and Wilmore initially arrived at the ISS in June 2023 on the maiden crewed voyage of the Boeing Starliner. However, due to propulsion malfunctions, the spacecraft was deemed unfit for the return trip, leading to their extended mission. Their prolonged stay was much longer than the usual six-month ISS rotation but still short of the US space endurance record of 371 days set by Frank Rubio in 2023 or the world record of 437 days by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov.
The extended mission required additional resupply missions, including extra clothing and personal care items, as neither astronaut had packed for a stay of this length. Their unexpected delay sparked public interest, speculation, and concern worldwide.
With their return now imminent, Sunita Williams and her fellow crew members are set to mark the end of an extraordinary and challenging space mission.
