NASA's Crew-9 Set for Return After Nine Months Stranded at ISS

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, along with their crew, are returning to Earth from the International Space Station after a nine-month stay. The journey aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft marks the end of their unexpected extended mission due to issues with the initial spacecraft.

After being marooned on the International Space Station (ISS) for over nine months, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are preparing to return to Earth on Wednesday. They, along with fellow astronauts Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will undock at 10:30 a.m. and are expected to splash down in the Gulf of America by 3:30 a.m. on Thursday.

The team will travel via the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft as part of NASA's Crew-9 mission's return. As preparations for departure continued, NASA provided live updates showing the astronauts concluding final tasks and sealing the hatches on Monday night.

NASA, in collaboration with SpaceX, conducted thorough assessments of weather conditions off Florida's coast to ensure a safe return. Favorable splashdown conditions prompted an earlier return than initially scheduled, allowing the crew to complete necessary handover tasks while maintaining operational flexibility.

These developments come after a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Earth last Friday, a day earlier than planned due to President Trump's urging of Elon Musk to accelerate the astronauts' return. Issues with the original transport vehicle—Boeing's Starliner spacecraft—initiated this prolonged mission, where identified helium leaks and thruster problems had resulted in an unmanned return of the Starliner in September.

(With inputs from agencies.)