NASA Crew-9 astronauts breathed earthly air for the first time in over nine months following the successful splashdown of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule. The astronauts disembarked the capsule on stretchers, as is customary. This precaution is taken by SpaceX for all astronauts returning from long-duration space missions.
Delays caused by issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which surfaced during a test flight piloted by Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams last summer, led to the astronaut duo remaining in space for nine months instead of a week, media.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 completed the agency’s ninth commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station on Tuesday, splashing down safely in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, in the Gulf of America, according to a NASA statement.
NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, returned to Earth at 5:57 pm EDT. Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew. After returning to shore, the astronauts will travel to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to reunite with their families.
“We are thrilled to have Suni, Butch, Nick, and Aleksandr home after their months-long mission conducting vital science, technology demonstrations, and maintenance aboard the International Space Station,” said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro.
“Per President Trump’s direction, NASA and SpaceX worked diligently to pull the schedule a month earlier. This international crew and our teams on the ground embraced the Trump Administration’s challenge of an updated, and somewhat unique, mission plan, to bring our crew home. Through preparation, ingenuity, and dedication, we achieve great things together for the benefit of humanity, pushing the boundaries of what is possible from low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars,” Petro added.
Hague and Gorbunov lifted off on September 28, 2024, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The next day, they docked at the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module.
Williams and Wilmore launched on June 5, 2024, aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41, as part of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. They arrived at the space station on June 6, 2024. In August, NASA decided to return the Starliner uncrewed and integrated Wilmore and Williams into Expedition 71/72 for their return via Crew-9.
The White House highlighted how US President Donald Trump prioritised the return of stranded NASA Crew-9 astronauts Sunita Williams, Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
The White House stated that the astronauts safely returned in the Gulf of America, crediting Elon Musk for their safe return. “PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT: President Trump pledged to rescue the astronauts stranded in space for nine months. Today, they safely splashed down in the Gulf of America, thanks to Elon Musk, SpaceX, and NASA!”
Elon Musk congratulated the NASA and SpaceX teams on their successful return and thanked Trump for prioritising the mission.”Congratulations to the SpaceX and NASA teams for another safe astronaut return! Thank you to Donald Trump for prioritising this mission !”
The four-member crew undocked at 1:05 am March 18 to begin their journey home. During their mission, Williams and Wilmore traveled 121,347,491 miles, spent 286 days in space, and completed 4,576 orbits around Earth. Hague and Gorbunov traveled 72,553,920 miles, spent 171 days in space, and completed 2,736 orbits.
This mission was Gorbunov’s first spaceflight, while Hague has now logged 374 days in space over two missions, Williams 608 days over three flights, and Wilmore 464 days over three flights, NASA stated.
Throughout the mission, Crew-9 contributed to scientific research, maintenance activities, and technology demonstrations. Williams conducted two spacewalks, assisted by Wilmore for one and Hague for another. The crew removed a radio frequency group antenna assembly, collected samples from the station’s external surface, installed patches on X-ray telescope light filters, and more.
Williams now holds the record for total spacewalking time by a female astronaut, with 62 hours and 6 minutes outside the station, ranking fourth on the all-time spacewalk duration list, NASA said.
The American crew members conducted more than 150 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations, contributing over 900 hours of research. Their work included studies on plant growth, stem cell technology for treating diseases, circadian rhythm lighting systems, and the survival of microorganisms in space. They also loaded and deployed the first wooden satellite for space research.
The Crew-9 mission was the fourth flight of the Dragon spacecraft named Freedom, which previously supported NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4, Axiom Mission 2, and Axiom Mission 3. The spacecraft will now undergo inspection and refurbishment at SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral facility for future missions.
Crew-9’s return follows the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10, which docked with the station on March 16, beginning another long-duration mission.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program aims to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and low Earth orbit. The program increases research opportunities aboard the ISS, supporting NASA’s broader goals of human exploration of the Moon and Mars, NASA added.
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