Sunita Williams's Homecoming Date Changed Again. Will Now Return To Earth On...

Williams and Wilmore were stuck in Space after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were testing on its maiden crewed voyage suffered propulsion issues.

Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore stuck in International Space Station for more than nine months will return to Earth on Tuesday evening (early Wednesday in India).

NASA moved forward the astronauts' anticipated ocean splashdown off the Florida coast to 5:57 pm Tuesday (March 18). It was initially slated for no sooner than Wednesday.

"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 said in a statement.

They will be transported home with another American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft. Williams and Wilmore were stuck in Space after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were testing on its maiden crewed voyage suffered propulsion issues.

The journey will be broadcast live from Monday evening when hatch closure preparations begin. 

11 Astronauts Present In ISS 

With the Crew-10 mission arriving at the International Space Station, the orbiting lab will host as many as 11 astronauts aboard it till Tuesday.

1. Sunita Williams

Sunita 'Suni' Williams, a veteran NASA astronaut and former US Navy test pilot, is currently serving aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of Expedition 71/72. Selected as an astronaut in 1998, Williams has accumulated 322 days in space across multiple missions, including Expeditions 14/15 and 32/33, during which she held the record for most spacewalk time by a female astronaut. A Needham, Massachusetts, native, Williams is known for her passion for aviation, engineering, and endurance challenges — qualities that have defined her remarkable career in space exploration.

2. Barry 'Butch' Wilmore

Captain Barry 'Butch' Wilmore, a retired US Navy pilot and veteran NASA astronaut, is currently serving aboard the ISS as part of Expedition 71/72. With over 178 days in space, Wilmore has extensive experience as both a space shuttle pilot and ISS commander. He first flew on STS-129 in 2009, delivering crucial hardware to the ISS, and later commanded Expedition 42 in 2014, spending 167 days in orbit and conducting four spacewalks. A Tennessee native, Wilmore has a distinguished career in aviation, combat missions, and test piloting.

3. Nick Hague

Col. Nick Hague, a veteran astronaut and US Space Force officer, is on his third mission to space. A Kansas native, Hague was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013 and completed training in 2015. His spaceflight career began in 2018 with a dramatic abort of the Soyuz MS-10 mission due to a rocket booster failure. Undeterred, he successfully launched aboard Soyuz MS-12 in 2019, spending 203 days in space during Expeditions 59 and 60, where he conducted three spacewalks totaling nearly 20 hours. 

4. Aleksandr Gorbunov

Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov is on his first journey to space. A native of Zheleznogorsk in Russia’s Kursk region, he earned an engineering degree from the Moscow Aviation Institute, specialising in spacecraft and upper-stage systems. Additionally, he trained in aircraft, helicopter, and engine operation and maintenance through his military studies. Before being selected as a cosmonaut in 2018, Gorbunov worked as an engineer at Rocket Space Corporation Energia, where he played a key role in supporting cargo spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

5. Don Pettit

Dr. Donald R. Pettit, a veteran NASA astronaut and scientist, is currently serving aboard the ISS as a flight engineer for Expedition 72. Selected as an astronaut in 1996, Pettit has spent over 370 days in space across three previous missions, making significant contributions to scientific research and space station operations. A chemical engineer by training, Pettit earned his doctorate from the University of Arizona and worked as a staff scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory before joining NASA. He first flew to space in 2002 as a NASA Science Officer for Expedition 6, followed by missions on STS-126 in 2008 and Expedition 30/31 in 2012. Known for his ingenuity and passion for science, he famously devised makeshift tools and experiments in microgravity, including capturing the first commercial SpaceX Dragon capsule with the ISS robotic arm. 

6. Alexey Ovchinin

1971-born Alexei Ovchinin became a member of the Russian cosmonaut corps in 2006. Before his selection, he built a strong aviation background as a flight instructor and commander, accumulating over 1,300 flight hours in Yak-52 and L-39 aircraft. In 2013, Ovchinin took part in the European Space Agency’s underground astronaut training programme, gaining valuable experience in extreme environments to enhance his adaptability for space missions.

7. Ivan Vagner  

A flight engineer on the ISS during Expedition 62/63, Ivan Viktorovich Vagner is a Russian cosmonaut and engineer specialising in spacecraft systems. Born on July 10, 1985, in Severonezhsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Vagner graduated from the Baltic State Technical University in 2008 and worked as an engineer for RKK Energia before being selected as a cosmonaut in 2010. Vagner completed his first spaceflight in April 2020 aboard Soyuz MS-16, serving as a flight engineer for Expeditions 62 and 63. During this mission, he spent nearly 196 days on the ISS, welcoming the SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission. 

8. Anne McClain 

A veteran astronaut and colonel in the US Army, this is McClain's second spaceflight. She previously spent 204 days aboard the ISS during Expeditions 58 and 59, participating in two spacewalks totalling over 13 hours. McClain has logged over 2,300 flight hours in 24 different aircraft. A graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point and the US Naval Test Pilot School, McClain has also served in various leadership roles at NASA’s Astronaut Office.

9. Nichole Ayers

Ayers, a major in the US Air Force, made her first spaceflight as part of Crew-10. She is the first member of NASA’s 2021 astronaut class to be assigned to a mission. A Colorado native, Ayers is an experienced instructor pilot and mission commander, with over 1,400 flight hours — including more than 200 hours in combat — on aircraft such as the T-38 ADAIR and F-22 Raptor. She holds a mathematics degree from the US Air Force Academy and a master’s in computational and applied mathematics from Rice University.

10. Takuya Onishi

Onishi, a seasoned JAXA astronaut, is on his second journey to space. He previously flew as a flight engineer for Expeditions 48 and 49, logging 113 days aboard the ISS. During his first mission, Onishi became the first Japanese astronaut to capture the Cygnus spacecraft robotically. A former commercial airline pilot with All Nippon Airways, he has over 3,700 flight hours in Boeing 767 aircraft and has since served as a JAXA flight director, overseeing operations of Japan’s Kibo module aboard the ISS.

11. Kirill Peskov

A Roscosmos cosmonaut, Peskov is making his first spaceflight. Selected as a cosmonaut in 2018, he previously worked as a co-pilot for airlines Nordwind and Ikar, flying Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft. As a test cosmonaut since 2020, he has undergone extensive training in zero-gravity environments, skydiving, scuba diving, and wilderness survival.