Key Points:
- NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore returning after nine-month ISS stay.
- Crew stranded due to Boeing Starliner malfunction; SpaceX Dragon spacecraft facilitating return.
- Splashdown scheduled off Florida coast at 5:57 pm ET (3:27 am IST, March 19).
- Largest-ever crew rotation underway with NASA’s Crew-10 mission successfully docking at ISS.
- Live coverage by NASA begins March 17 evening (EDT).
Washington D.C.: In a landmark space mission, NASA and SpaceX are preparing to bring home two veteran astronauts, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for nearly nine months. The duo is set to splash down off the Florida coast on Tuesday evening, March 18, at approximately 5:57 pm EDT (3:27 am IST, March 19).
The highly anticipated return comes after Crew-10 NASA’s latest mission in collaboration with Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully docked at the ISS early Sunday morning. The Crew-10 mission, launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on March 14, delivered four new astronauts to the ISS. The arriving crew included NASA astronauts Anne McClain (commander) and Nichole Ayers (pilot), JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
Williams and Wilmore were originally scheduled to return months earlier aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. However, technical malfunctions related to propulsion systems rendered Starliner unfit for re-entry. The astronauts have since remained aboard the ISS awaiting rescue.
NASA announced that Williams and Wilmore will now return aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, which successfully docked with the ISS early Sunday morning at approximately 12:04 am EDT (9:34 am IST). Alongside them on their journey back will be NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
After evaluating weather conditions off Florida’s coast, NASA moved up the return date from Wednesday to Tuesday evening (March 18). According to NASA’s latest announcement, the Dragon capsule is expected to splash down in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida’s coast at approximately 5:57 pm EDT on Tuesday (3:27 am IST, March 19).
Why Were Williams & Wilmore Stranded?
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore initially arrived at the ISS in June 2024 aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. However, technical difficulties involving propulsion systems rendered their Starliner capsule unsafe for a return journey. Multiple attempts to resolve these issues failed, leaving both astronauts stranded in orbit far beyond their planned six-month mission duration.
Their prolonged stay has drawn significant attention as it neared record-breaking durations. While their extended stay surpassed typical six-month missions, it did not surpass previous records held by NASA astronaut Frank Rubio (371 days in space in 2023) or Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov’s world record of 437 days aboard Mir space station.
Live Coverage of Historic Return
NASA has announced extensive live coverage of this historic homecoming event. The coverage will begin on Monday evening, March 17 at 10:45 pm EDT (8:15 am IST on March 18), starting with preparations for hatch closure aboard the Dragon spacecraft. Undocking from ISS is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon around 5:11 pm EDT (2:41 am IST, March 19), followed by splashdown approximately at 5:57 pm EDT off Florida’s coast.
After undocking from ISS at around 5:11 pm EDT on Tuesday (2:41 am IST Wednesday), NASA will provide audio-only updates until full video coverage resumes shortly before splashdown.
Following their safe return to Earth, NASA officials including Joel Montalbano (Deputy Associate Administrator), Steve Stich (Commercial Crew Program Manager), and Jeff Arend (Systems Engineering Manager) will address media questions during a press briefing scheduled shortly after splashdown.
This remarkable rescue operation underscores NASA’s close collaboration with SpaceX as part of its Commercial Crew Program aimed at ensuring reliable transportation between Earth and orbiting laboratories like ISS.
