NASA Live Updates: Splashdown! Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore Return To Earth After 9 Long Months In Space
Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore are returning to Earth after 286 days in space due to glitches with the Starliner spacecraft. They are set to make a splashdown on Wednesday.
Background
Earth is welcoming astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore, who spent nine gruelling months in space. After being aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months, Williams and Wilmore officially began their long-awaited journey back to Earth on Tuesday.
NASA said the two astronauts, who had been unexpectedly stranded in orbit, undocked from the ISS on Tuesday at 10:35 AM IST, marking the start of their 17-hour trip home.
What Time Will Sunita Williams And Butch Wilmore Return?
Their return is set to conclude early Wednesday when their spacecraft, SpaceX’s Dragon, makes a splashdown off the coast of Florida. The landing is expected to take place around 3:27 AM on Wednesday IST.
Williams and Wilmore initially travelled to the ISS in June last year on what was supposed to be an eight-day mission — a quick test flight for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, designed to certify it for future crewed missions. However, what was meant to be a short roundtrip turned into an extended stay after the Starliner developed propulsion issues and was deemed unfit to bring them back to Earth. As a result, the spacecraft returned empty, leaving the astronauts to wait for an alternative way home.
Now, after months of uncertainty, the pair is finally on their way home aboard SpaceX’s ‘Dragon’ capsule. Along with Williams and Wilmore, NASA's Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will fly back to Earth on Wednesday.
Wilmore and Williams have been in space for almost 286 days. This is far longer than a standard ISS mission that usually lasts 6 months. However, the record for the highest time spent in space is held by NASA astronaut Frank Rubio who spent 371 days at a stretch in space due to a spacecraft glitch.
Political War Over Astronauts' Return
A political war has been going on over the return of the stranded astronauts, with US President Donald Trump and his advisor Elon Musk alleging that their return was delayed due to "political reasons". Trump said that the Joe Biden administration deliberately delayed their return.
Musk even claimed that his offer to send a SpaceX capsule to bring the astronauts back was turned down. However, the allegations have not been confirmed so far.
Recovery Vessel Megan Prepares To Rope In Dragon Capsule Onboard
NASA's capsule recovery vessel Megan is working to retrieve Dragon from the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).
Splashdown! Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore Return To Earth After 9 Long Months In Space
Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore are back on Earth after 9 months. The re-entry was smooth and without any hitch. The splashdown took place in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America) off the coast of Florida.
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