Melissa Donovan
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who crewed Boeing’s Starliner on its maiden crewed voyage, are now expected to return to Earth sooner than initially planned. The schedule change comes as NASA and SpaceX adjusted plans due to weather conditions off Florida’s coast, where the astronauts are set to land alongside members of the Crew-9 mission.
Wilmore and Williams will board a SpaceX Dragon capsule with their Crew-9 counterparts—NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov—early Tuesday morning. The team will undock from the International Space Station (ISS) and embark on their journey home, with a scheduled water landing near Florida on Tuesday evening. NASA had originally targeted a Wednesday return but moved the date forward in response to evolving conditions.
A Long-Awaited Return
The homecoming marks the culmination of an extended stay for Wilmore and Williams, who initially launched to the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in June. However, the mission encountered significant setbacks when multiple technical issues forced NASA to return the uncrewed Starliner to Earth in September via an autonomous landing in New Mexico.
With Starliner unable to bring them back, Wilmore and Williams integrated into the Crew-9 mission, awaiting the arrival of their replacements. That transition was completed on Saturday when the Crew-10 astronauts successfully docked at the ISS following their launch from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Return Flight Details
Wilmore, Williams, Hague, and Gorbunov will board the same SpaceX Dragon capsule that Crew-9 flew to the ISS in late September. According to NASA, undocking is scheduled for approximately 1:05 a.m. EST on Tuesday, with an estimated 17-hour flight before splashdown at around 5:57 p.m. EST.
NASA will provide live coverage of the undocking and landing via its streaming service, NASA+. The agency plans to resume coverage around 4:45 p.m. EST Tuesday as the Dragon capsule undergoes its deorbit burn and prepares for water landing. A post-landing press conference is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST, though the astronauts themselves will not participate immediately after returning.
Crew-10 Takes Over ISS Duties
With the arrival of Crew-10, Wilmore and Williams’ prolonged mission will finally conclude after over nine months in orbit—totaling approximately 280 days. The new team, led by NASA astronaut Anne McClain, includes NASA pilot Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi (JAXA), and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
Crew-10 has been undergoing a brief transition period following their arrival, during which the outgoing astronauts are familiarizing them with station operations. Once Crew-9 departs, the new arrivals will officially become part of Expedition 73 and embark on a six-month rotation dedicated to scientific research and station maintenance.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program: The Role of SpaceX and Boeing
The Crew-9 and Crew-10 missions are part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, an initiative designed to allow private companies to transport astronauts and cargo to orbit. SpaceX has become a key player in this effort, with its Dragon capsules serving as NASA’s primary crew transport. Boeing’s Starliner was intended to provide a second operational vehicle, but its future remains uncertain following its troubled first crewed test flight.
NASA and Boeing continue working to resolve the Starliner’s technical issues before certifying it for regular missions. Until then, SpaceX remains the agency’s go-to provider for crewed spaceflight operations, ensuring continued access to the ISS as part of its commercial spaceflight endeavors.
As NASA and its partners advance these commercial spaceflight initiatives, all eyes will be on Tuesday’s return, marking yet another milestone in modern space exploration.
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