SpaceX Crew Dragon set to return stranded NASA astronauts home on Tuesday after nine-month stay

WASHINGTON, March 17 — Two U.S. astronauts who have been stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) for over nine months will finally return to Earth on Tuesday evening, NASA announced.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will be transported home alongside fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which arrived at the ISS early Sunday.

Wilmore and Williams initially traveled to the ISS in June aboard Boeing's Starliner on its first crewed mission. However, propulsion issues rendered the spacecraft unfit for their return, forcing them to remain aboard the station far longer than planned.

NASA stated on Sunday evening that their return had been moved up to approximately 5:57 p.m. Tuesday, with a planned ocean splashdown off the Florida coast. The mission was originally set for no earlier than Wednesday.

"The updated return schedule allows ISS crew members time to complete handover duties while also ensuring operational flexibility ahead of less favorable weather conditions later in the week," NASA explained.

Live coverage of the return journey will begin Monday evening when hatch closure preparations commence.

For Wilmore and Williams, the trip home will conclude an unexpected and prolonged stay. What was initially planned as a short-duration mission turned into an extended ordeal, surpassing the typical six-month ISS rotation.

While their nine-month stay was lengthy, it falls short of space endurance records—NASA astronaut Frank Rubio spent 371 days aboard the ISS in 2023, and Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov holds the world record with 437 consecutive days aboard the Mir space station.

Still, the unplanned extension of their mission, which required them to receive extra clothing and personal care supplies, has drawn widespread attention and sympathy. — AFP