A day ahead; Crew-9 is closing the hatches as they prepare to return to Earth on March 18

The countdown has begun!
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are coming back home, and that too - a day prior to the scheduled date.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Jeremy Williams, who have spent more than nine months at the International Space Station, are now preparing for their splashdown off the coast of Florida. NASA has started a live broadcast of SpaceX Crew-9’s return to Earth, beginning with the preparation to close the hatch of the Dragon spacecraft.
As per NASA, the weather is ideal for the return of the Dragon spacecraft, and NASA has confirmed that all preparations are complete. There will be approximately 17 hours between the undocking and the splashdown. The splashdown is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at 5:57 PM Eastern Standard Time.


The Dragon spacecraft hatch was closed at 8:15 AM IST on Tuesday. Astronauts Williams and Wilmore are scheduled to land back on Earth at 3:27 AM on Wednesday. NASA has adjusted the return date to ensure that the astronauts have ample time for a smooth transition of duties, as well as to provide greater flexibility in light of anticipated unfavorable weather later in the week.


Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have already entered the Dragon spacecraft and the hatch is finally closed. All four Dragon crewmembers are inside the capsule now. The hatch was closed at exactly 11:05 pm Eastern Time.

“This is our best shot with a pristine weather off the coast of Florida to bring the crew 9 home,” NASA said in their live coverage.
The Dragon crew is all on board. The astronauts are currently carrying their routine suit checks. Station hatch will be closed in a short while after all checks are done.

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore went to space on June 5, 2024. They were launched on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft for the first crewed flight of the vehicle. The flight was originally scheduled to last about a week. However, technical issues caused NASA to delay the return of the Starliner to Earth.

Not long after entering orbit, several issues cropped up, including five helium leaks and five failures of its reaction control system (RCS) thrusters. This caused the mission, originally slated to last as few as eight days, to drag on for more than two months before NASA announced its abandonment on August 24. The Starliner capsule undocked from the ISS on September 6, returning to Earth without a crew.
The 59-year-old Williams and 61-year-old Wilmore were trapped in space after their spacecraft experienced mechanical issues and had to be sent back home without them.
Williams and Wilmore remained on the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew, and they have been stranded in space for more than nine months.
While awaiting the Crew-10 rotation, Wilmore and Williams have been performing a number of maintenance tasks and participating in scientific projects.
Williams even made history by being one of the most experienced spacewalkers with nine spacewalks (second most for a woman) and a total time of 62 hours and 6 minutes (fourth overall, current record-holder for most hours spent during spacewalks by a woman).