NASA Reveals Crew-9 Return Schedule

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NASA Reveals Crew-9 Return Schedule

Crew-9’s Homecoming Timeline

NASA has shared the return schedule for Crew-9, featuring astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. The SpaceX Dragon hatch closure preparations will start on Tuesday, March 18, at 8:15 AM IST (March 17 at 10:45 PM ET).

Crew-10’s Successful Arrival

This news follows the successful arrival of SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission at the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday. The mission, consisting of four astronauts from three nations, began a 28-hour orbital chase on March 14 aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 spacecraft. The crew members were Americans Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.

Earlier Return Due to Favorable Conditions

NASA has mentioned that mission managers are aiming for an earlier return for Crew-9 due to favorable conditions. After a two-day handover period between Crew-10 and Crew-9, Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, and other crew members, including NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will head back to Earth.

Tuesday, March 18

  • 8:15 AM IST – Hatch closing process will be live-streamed by NASA
  • 10:15 AM IST – Undocking preparations begin
  • 10:30 AM IST – Undocking

The spacecraft’s splashdown is expected around 3:37 AM IST, Wednesday, March 19 (5:57 PM EDT, March 18).

  • 2:41 AM – Deorbit burn (time is approximate)
  • 3:37 AM – Splashdown (time is approximate)

NASA will live-stream the entire return process, from hatch closing to splashdown, on its official website https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew.

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have spent around nine months living on the ISS, while Hague and Gorbunov arrived at the ISS in September aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon craft.