Sunita Williams and her fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore are finally returning to Earth. These two NASA astronauts have been on the International Space Station (ISS) for about 10 months. To bring them back, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft will launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 13 via the Falcon-9 rocket. This mission is part of Crew-10, which will replace Crew-9 on the ISS.

When will the spacecraft going to pick up Sunita be launched?

SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will be launched to bring back Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. It will depart from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 13 via the Falcon-9 rocket. It will launch at 5:18 am Indian time. After this, after a journey of about 12 hours, Dragon will reach the ISS.

The Dragon spacecraft will carry four new astronauts of the Crew-10 mission to the ISS. This includes NASA commander Anne McClain, pilot Nicole Ayers, astronaut Takuya Onishi of Japan's space agency JAXA, and cosmonaut Kirill Peskov of Russia's Roscosmos.

When will Sunita leave the space station?

After Crew-10 reaches the ISS, Sunita Williams, who was the commander of the space station till now, will hand over the responsibility of all science experiments to the new astronauts. This process can last from a few days to a week.

After this, the members of Crew-9, i.e. Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, will undock from the ISS in the Dragon spacecraft. The Dragon spacecraft will separate from the ISS on March 16 at 6:30 pm Indian time. However, this time will depend on the weather conditions.

Where will the spacecraft bringing Sunita land?

The return of Sunita and her companions will be completely under the supervision of NASA and SpaceX. The splashdown will take place in the Atlantic Ocean. This process is extremely sensitive, as the spacecraft has to first de-orbit, then enter the Earth's atmosphere.

The biggest risk is associated with the intense heat and dynamic effects during entry. However, Crew Dragon has already made several successful landings, so the mission is expected to be safe.

NASA and SpaceX are fully alert about the return. Every activity from undocking to splashdown will be tracked live. If the weather cooperates, this mission will be completed on time and Sunita Williams will set foot on Earth again.

Sunita Williams's Mission Story

Sunita Williams and her companions reached the ISS in September 2024. Their mission was to be only eight days, but due to technical flaws in the Boeing Starliner, they had to spend extra time in space. Now they will return after about 10 months.

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