NASA astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore set to return to Earth, check live coverage details

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 members pose together for a portrait inside the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft docked to the International Space Station. From left, are NASA astronaut Suni Williams, Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, and NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Butch Wimore. (Image Credit: NASA)

NASA is preparing for the return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission from the International Space Station (ISS). The mission, which included astronauts Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, is set to conclude as the crew makes their journey back to Earth.

The astronauts will begin their departure process early Tuesday morning, March 18 (IST). The hatch between the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the ISS is scheduled to close at approximately 8:45 am IST. This marks the final step before undocking as the crew prepares to leave the orbiting laboratory after an extended stay in space.

NASA will provide live coverage of the undocking process, which is set to begin at 10:15 am IST on NASA+. The spacecraft is scheduled to autonomously detach from the ISS at 10:35 am IST, marking the start of a 17-hour journey back to Earth.

Click Here to Watch NASA's Crew-9 Mission Live Coverage

After successfully undocking, the Dragon spacecraft will navigate its way back through Earth’s atmosphere, targeting a safe splashdown off the coast of Florida. NASA has scheduled live coverage of the deorbit burn, entry, and landing procedures to begin at 2:15 a.m. IST on Wednesday, March 19. The spacecraft is expected to land in the ocean at around 3:27 a.m. IST, where recovery teams will be ready to retrieve the returning astronauts.

NASA Crew-9 Return Date and Time (IST)

Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov originally launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on September 28, 2024, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Their Dragon spacecraft docked with the ISS the following day.

Meanwhile, astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore took a different route to the ISS. They launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on June 5, 2024, arriving at the station on June 6. In August, NASA made a key decision to return Starliner to Earth uncrewed, which resulted in integrating Williams and Wilmore into the Expedition 71/72 crew, ensuring their return aboard Crew-9 instead.