Sunita Williams return : After a nine-month-long overstay, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are expected to return to Earth tomorrow as the crew successfully undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) today.
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are returning to the Earth after a nine-month-long overstay at the International Space Station (ISS). They are accompanied by astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Their return to Earth is part of a contingency plan devised by NASA with technical assistance from the world’s richest man, Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.
NASA said the Crew-9 members successfully undocked from the International Space Station as scheduled. “Sunni and Butch successfully begin their belated journey back home,” the agency said in its commentary.
The four-member crew undocked from the ISS at 1:05 am ET (10:35 am IST) and began a 17-hour trip back to Earth. The replacement crew was handed over the responsibilities of the mission before Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore returned to Earth.
The four-member crew expected to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico at 5:57 pm ET on Tuesday (3:27 am IST, Wednesday). The exact location of the landing will depend on local weather conditions.
Sunita Williams return | Key points
-Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore spent 286 days on the International Space Station, where they conducted over 4500 orbits and travelled more than 121 million statute miles
-The crew will undergo NASA’s 45-day post-mission rehabilitation program is designed to help astronauts recover from the physical effects of spaceflight.
-Their return was scheduled to begin initially on Wednesday night, but NASA postponed the journey as unfavourable weather are expected to prevail later in the week.
-‘Butch and Suni’ travelled to the ISS in June last year for a scheduled eight-day mission. They were forced to stay as Boeing Starliner capsule developed issues with its propulsion system.
-The duo was the first crew to fly Boeing’s Starliner in a test flight. The faulty capsule returned to Earth last September.