What was intended to be a one-week stay was extended to nine months when Boeing’s Starliner was deemed unfit for the crew to return to Earth.
All of that changes today, when NASA and SpaceX intend to land its Crew Dragon Freedom in the Gulf of Mexico.
NASA and SpaceX have targeted Crew-9’s splashdown aboard the Crew Dragon Freedom. The crew departed the International Space Station at 1:05 a.m. ET Tues., with an expected splashdown return on Tues., March 18.
A deorbit burn, which will begin the crew’s descent back to earth, is scheduled for about 5:11 p.m. EDT.
Heading home are three NASA astronauts—Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore and Nick Hague—along with Aleksandr Gorbunov, a cosmonaut with Russia's federal space corporation Roscosmos.
Why Were They There?
NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, are completing a long-duration science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory and will return time-sensitive research to Earth.
Why Did They Not Previously Return?
Their ship experienced issues with five thrusters on the way to the ISS. NASA decided to return Starliner to the ground without its crew.
Planning to Watch?
NASA will provide live coverage of the SpaceX Crew-9 return to Earth from the International Space Station.
- Undocking coverage began on NASA+ scheduled for 12:45 a.m.
- Deorbit burn scheduled for 5:11 p.m.
- Splashdown scheduled for 5:57 p.m.
Where to Watch
Stream on NASA+
Find full mission coverage, NASA’s commercial crew blog, and more information about the Crew-9 mission here.
