Florida: After a nine-month wait, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have safely returned to Earth along with other Crew-9 members. The Dragon spacecraft successfully landed in the Gulf of Mexico at 3:27 AM IST on Wednesday. Following the Crew-9 landing, Sunita Williams and her team exited the Dragon capsule. Williams stepped out with a smile, waving at the crowd. Nick Hague was the first to exit, followed by others, with Sunita being the third. The astronauts were immediately transferred on stretchers for medical evaluation.
SpaceX’s recovery ship, MV Megan, retrieved the capsule from the sea and transported the crew safely to land, marking the successful completion of Crew-9’s long-duration mission. The Freedom Dragon spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 10:35 AM IST on Tuesday. The four-member crew aboard the spacecraft included Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore had to extend their mission at the ISS due to issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The duo originally launched to the ISS on June 5, 2024, aboard the Boeing Starliner test vehicle, with an initial mission duration of just eight days. However, technical failures in the Starliner prevented their return. Boeing and NASA had to land the Starliner without them.
In preparation for landing, the Dragon spacecraft jettisoned its solar panel-equipped trunk section at 2:36 AM IST on Wednesday. Shortly after, at 2:41 AM IST, the spacecraft performed its final deorbit burn, securing its re-entry trajectory. At around 3:30 AM IST, the capsule safely landed in the Gulf of Mexico, near the coast of Florida.
Following the splashdown, SpaceX’s MV Megan successfully recovered the capsule and transported Williams, Wilmore, Hague, and Gorbunov back to land, officially concluding their extended mission.
