NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have spent nine months aboard the International Space Station, are set to commence their journey back to Earth early tomorrow morning. This flight marks the conclusion of a unique mission.
Following the arrival of a replacement crew last Saturday night, veteran astronauts Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams, along with two other crew members, are prepared to undock from the ISS at 4:05 AM Irish time tomorrow, embarking on a 17-hour return trip to Earth.
The astronauts are expected to splash down off the coast of Florida later that afternoon, with the specific location dependent on weather conditions.
Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams were part of the inaugural crew to pilot Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft during a crucial test flight in June.
Joining Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams are NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, the other two members of Crew-9.
Mr. Hague and Mr. Gorbunov traveled to the ISS in September aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft that had two vacant seats.
Originally, NASA planned to return Crew-9 on Wednesday night; however, potential adverse weather later in the week could have complicated the return of the Crew Dragon capsule, prompting the agency to advance their return trip to Tuesday.
