NASA has stated that astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will return to Earth late March 2025. SpaceX’s mission is rescheduled, as they were originally set to return in late March or early April, but due to the new Crew-10 schedule, their departure from the International Space Station (ISS) will be slightly later. According to ET reports, Crew-10 along with crew astronauts to the ISS, will lift off on March 12, 2025, including Williams and Wilmore, NASA astronauts are scheduled to make their trip home shortly after that, barring weather and logistical changes in missions.
NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and crew to return to Earth in March
Crew-10, on which there are new astronauts coming aboard the International Space Station (ISS), will take off on March 12, 2025, at 7:48 PM EDT. Williams and Wilmore, for the Crew-9 mission, will depart from the ISS about a week after the Crew-10 launch. Returning will begin sometime between mid- and late March 2025, depending on mission activity and weather.
How will Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore be coming back to Earth
Williams, Wilmore, and two other astronauts will come back on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. NASA originally planned to utilize the Boeing Starliner space vehicle but switched due to technical issues. With these issues, NASA decided to utilize the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for safe return. On return, the astronauts will experience a controlled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, and splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico, where recovery ships will retrieve them.
Switching spacecraft is part of NASA’s broader plan to make sure that it maintains an on-call safe and trustworthy crew rotation system for the ISS. Delays on Boeing’s Starliner and the consequences it brought compelled NASA to have no other option but to use SpaceX’s Dragon capsule for the return trip of Crew-9. The action is necessary to avoid further delays and have a smooth rotation of astronauts on the ISS.
Sunita Williams and Wilmore’s extended stay on the ISS and preparation for return
Williams and Wilmore entered the ISS in June 2024 aboard the Boeing Starliner capsule. Their ten-day flight lasted for numerous months due to ongoing technical issues with the Starliner. For the duration of their extended period of residence, they carried out scientific experiments as well as other flights ahead of a new timeline of return.
Williams and Wilmore, over their extended sojourn, went through a series of scientific experiments and practice simulations. Practice at this juncture involved reentry practice via the simulation software to equip the astronauts properly for being returned to Earth aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle.
NASA’s Crew-9 return and its impact on uninterrupted ISS missions
The Crew-9 return ties with NASA strategies for a manned presence on the ISS on an uninterrupted basis. The March 12, 2025, Crew-10 mission will usher new astronauts onboard the ISS. They include NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Roscosmos’s Kirill Peskov, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Takuya Onishi. They will also oversee a good handover and resumption of space station research experiments.
The Crew-9 mission emphasizes the subtleties of space flight and the importance of reliable spacecraft. As NASA continues to develop and refine its commercial crew program, it remains committed to crew safety. The modifications to spacecraft and mission timelines are of utmost importance to ensuring future space missions are successful and crew members are safe.
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