Sunita Williams Return Live Updates: Why SpaceX Takes Longer Than Soyuz
Early on Tuesday, Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore departed the ISS on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, heading for a splashdown off the coast of Florida after a roughly 17-hour flight.
Observe that, according to the European Space Agency, “The astronauts brake from 28 800 km/h to a standstill at touchdown in barely three hours during the ride home from the International Space Station.”
It took almost three and a half hours for the Russian Soyuz capsule to return three crew members from the International Space Station to Earth last year.
At a height of roughly 420 kilometres, the ISS orbits the Earth at a speed of about 28,000 km/h (17,500 mph). Dragon needs to slow down sufficiently to fall out of orbit in order to return. However, because of Earth’s spin and alignment with landing zones, an instant return is not feasible.
Wilmore and Williams have completed the first astronaut-crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule in June 2024. The mission to the ISS, which was supposed to last only a week, ended up lasting nine months.
Early on Tuesday, their return spacecraft manoeuvred in orbit, passing behind and above the station before launching a series of departure burns that caused it to return to Earth.
The Dragon is due to splash down off the coast of Florida at approximately 5:57 p.m., marking the end of the return journey, according to NASA.
When is Sunita Williams Coming Back to Earth?
The ISS and the Dragon spacecraft have physically parted ways. On Tuesday (today) IST, the hatch was closed at 8:15 a.m. Wilmore and Williams are scheduled to land on Earth on Wednesday at 3:27 a.m. Due to anticipated bad weather later in the week, NASA has changed the return date to provide astronauts more flexibility and ample time for a seamless transition of responsibilities.
Where and When Can You Watch Sunita Williams’ Return Journey?
The process of closing the Dragon spacecraft hatch is the first part of NASA’s live coverage of SpaceX Crew-9’s return to Earth from the International Space Station. Additionally, you can watch Financial Express’ live coverage of the astronauts’ return trip here.
