Sunita Williams Return Live Updates: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are scheduled to return to Earth after spending more than nine months on the International Space Station (ISS) on March 18 (Tuesday). NASA has released a detailed plan and time schedule for their return aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. Both the astronauts will be splashing down off Florida’s coast. The space agency is providing live coverage of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 return to Earth from the International Space Station, beginning with Dragon spacecraft hatch closure preparations. You can catch all the latest and live updates regarding astronauts return on www.news24online.com
Earlier on Monday, NASA released a statement which read as: “NASA and SpaceX met on Sunday to assess weather and splashdown conditions off Florida’s coast for the return of the agency’s Crew-9 mission from the International Space Station. Mission managers are targeting an earlier Crew-9 return opportunity based on favorable conditions forecasted for the evening of Tuesday, March 18.”
Schedule Of Live Coverage Planned By NASA:
Monday, March 17
10:45 p.m. – Hatch closing coverage begins on NASA+
Tuesday, March 18
12:45 a.m. – Undocking coverage begins on NASA+
1:05 a.m. – Undocking
Following the conclusion of undocking coverage, NASA will switch to audio only.
Pending weather conditions at the splashdown sites, continuous coverage will resume on March 18 on NASA+ prior to the start of deorbit burn.
4:45 p.m. – Return coverage begins on NASA+
5:11 p.m. – Deorbit burn (time is approximate)
5:57 p.m. – Splashdown (time is approximate)
7:30 p.m. – Return-to-Earth media conference on NASA+, with the following participants:
- Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
- Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
- Jeff Arend, manager for systems engineering and integration, NASA’s International Space Station, NASA’s International Space Station Office
- Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
Sunita Williams Return Live Updates:
Written By
Vaidika Thapa
Mar 18, 2025 07:33