NASA shares latest update on astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore's return—here's the new date

NASA Moves Up Return Date for Stranded Astronauts on ISS. (Image: NASA)

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who have been on the International Space Station (ISS) since September, may return earlier than expected. NASA has announced their return is now set for mid-March instead of late March or April. The change comes as NASA and SpaceX adjust their plans for upcoming astronaut flights. The decision aims to shorten their extended mission, which has now lasted eight months. NASA’s commercial crew programme manager, Steve Stich, acknowledged the challenges of spaceflight, saying the change was necessary.

Why the delay?
Wilmore and Williams were originally meant to return in June aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule. Their mission was supposed to last just one week. However, technical issues prevented the Starliner from returning safely. NASA then decided to bring it back empty and reassigned the astronauts to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule.

Additional delays occurred when SpaceX postponed its crew replacement mission. Extra preparations were needed for the new capsule, further delaying Wilmore and Williams' return. To avoid more delays, NASA decided to use an older SpaceX capsule instead.

New launch schedule
NASA now plans to launch the replacement crew on March 12. This mission was originally set for a private crew organised by Axiom Space. The private astronauts from Poland, Hungary, and India will now fly later in the spring.

NASA prefers a new crew to arrive before the existing one departs. This ensures smooth handover operations on the ISS. The incoming crew will include two NASA astronauts, along with astronauts from Japan and Russia.

With the new schedule in place, Wilmore and Williams will soon return home. Their extended stay in space will finally come to an end after months of unexpected challenges.