After spending 286 days in space, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and her Crew-9 team are preparing to return to Earth. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is scheduled to splash down off the coast of Florida at on Wednesday, March 20 (5:57 PM EST on Tuesday, March 19).
NASA will provide live coverage of the event, allowing space enthusiasts to witness this historic moment in real time.
Williams and Wilmore undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 10:35 AM IST on March 19 and are now on a 17-hour journey back to Earth. Their final descent and splashdown are scheduled for:
NASA had initially planned their return for Wednesday but decided to move up the splashdown due to unfavorable weather conditions expected later in the week.
NASA will provide live streaming of Crew-9’s return across multiple platforms:
→ NASA TV Direct Link – Available on NASA’s official website – www.nasa.gov
→ NASA+ – NASA’s streaming service
→ YouTube – NASA’s official YouTube channel
→ Social Media – Updates on NASA’s X (Twitter) account
→ Hatch closure preparations: 8:15 AM IST on Tuesday, March 19
→ Full reentry and splashdown coverage resumes: 2:15 AM IST on Wednesday, March 20
Following the conclusion of hatch closure and undocking, coverage will become audio-only for a period before full coverage resumes ahead of splashdown.
Once Williams and Wilmore splash down in the Atlantic Ocean, they will be retrieved by recovery teams and flown to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
→ Medical evaluations to assess any spaceflight-related health effects
→ Reacclimation to Earth’s gravity after spending nearly nine months in microgravity
→ Debriefing sessions with NASA scientists
After clearance from NASA flight surgeons, they will be allowed to return home.
For real-time updates on Sunita Williams’ return, Read:
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