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Sunita Williams' return date confirmed: When and where to watch Earth splashdown
According to the latest announcement by NASA, Williams and Wilmore will return to Earth on Tuesday evening ( Florida time).
With the replacement crew on board the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore finally have a date of return to Earth.
The two astronauts have been in space for more than nine months as their Boeing Starliner rocket faced propulsion issues. The duo had gone to space for a period of mere eight days in June last year.
According to the latest announcement by NASA, Williams and Wilmore will return to Earth on Tuesday evening ( Florida time). Arrangements have been made for enthusiasts to watch the splashdown live.
When and where to watch Sunita Williams’ return to earth
The SpaceX Dragon rocket will bring Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back to earth on Tuesday evening, with the splashdown scheduled at 5:57 PM EST. The duo will be landing in Florida more than nine months after they were originally scheduled to return.
The Dragon capsule’s return was originally scheduled for Wednesday but NASA decided to move it up a day due to ‘less favourable weather conditions expected for later in the week'.
NASA revealed that it will be live-streaming the return of Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. The coverage will start from around 10:45 pm EST on Monday with hatch closure preparations.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft reached the ISS on Sunday with the replacement crew. It docked just past midnight ET (9:34 am IST) with an astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut on board.
The replacement crew is getting a handover before Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore return to Earth. Along with the stranded duo, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will also be coming back to Earth.
After the Boeing Starliner failed to bring back the stranded astronauts despite multiple attempts, US President Donald Trump tasked the Elon Musk-led SpaceX for the job.
While the two astronauts stayed in space for much longer than the originally planned eight days, they still didn't smash the US record for the longest stay. That still belongs to Frank Rubio, who stayed aboard the station for 371 days in 2023. The world record was set by Russia’s Valeri Polyakov, who stayed aboard the Mir Space Station for a staggering 437 days in 1994-95.
