Sunita Williams Return: Astronauts Undock From International Space Station; NASA Releases Map To Track Sunita Williams

NASA on X shared that Crew9 will be difficult to spot in the daytime.

“Crew9 will be difficult to spot in the daytime as it reenters Earth's atmosphere, but if you want to keep an eye out for SpaceX's Dragon as it heads home today, we have the map for you."

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams last year strapped in for what was supposed to be a quick test flight of Boeing's Starliner capsule. Soon after the June 5 liftoff, helium leaked and thrusters malfunctioned on the way to the orbiting lab.

Their homecoming is imminent now that a new crew has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) to replace them after launching from Florida last week.

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore boarded the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, alongside astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov. 

NASA earlier said that if weather permits, the SpaceX capsule would undock from the space station early Tuesday and splash down off Florida's coast later that evening around 5:57 PM.

On June 4, the Starliner carrying Sunita and Butch encountered a technical glitch after liftoff when helium leaked and thrusters malfunctioned on the way to the orbiting lab.

According to The Associated Press, both NASA and Boeing are trying to ascertain the reason behind the malfunction. It has been told that the engineers are still investigating the thruster breakdowns, and it's unclear when Starliner will fly again.

Sunita and Butch, the two test pilots came to NASA via the Navy. While Wilmore racked up 663 aircraft carrier landings, Williams served in combat helicopter squadrons.

Wilmore, 62, played high school and college football in his home state of Tennessee before joining the Navy. Williams, 59, grew up in Needham, Massachusetts, a competitive swimmer and distance runner.

NASA picked Williams as an astronaut in 1998 followed by Wilmore in 2000. Each had two spaceflights behind them including monthslong stints at the space station before signing up as Starliner's first crew.

(via AP)

Wilmore and Williams' extended space venture reached the centre of a political storm when US President Donald Trump blamed the Biden Administration for keeping them up there too long.

US President Donald Trump earlier in March spoke about the possibility of personally launching a rescue team into orbit to help bring astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams back to Earth — and blasted former President Joe Biden for their eight-day mission stretching to nine months and counting.

He also had some words of appreciation for NASA라이브 바카라 Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams' hair as he told a pair of stranded astronauts aboard the International Space Station that "we're coming up to get you."

“We have two astronauts that are stuck in space. I have asked Elon (Musk), I said, ‘Do me a favour. Can you get them out?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ He is preparing to go up, I think in two weeks.”

NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore thanked US President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk for facilitating the journey back to Earth after nine months of stay at the International Space Station (ISS).

Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Tuesday drew a comparison between Kerala and NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, stating that the southern state would strongly fight its challenges like hers and go ahead despite attempts by the Centre to financially strangulate it.

"Like Sunita Williams, who is now on her way back home amidst all the challenges, Kerala will also go ahead strongly despite attempts to destroy it,"he said, as quoted by Press Trust of India.

Wilmore and Williams have been on the ISS since June last year owing to the technical issues in the Starliner which was deemed unfit to embark on the return journey to Earth.

During their nine-month-long extended stay in the ISS, the senior astronauts reportedly engaged in over 150 scientific experiments, contributing significantly to ongoing research in space.

They were eventually included in the SpaceX Crew-9 mission for their return journey. The Crew-10 mission, which docked at the ISS on March 17, facilitated the crew exchange necessary for Williams and Wilmore's departure.

The contrast between SpaceX라이브 바카라 Crew Dragon and Boeing라이브 바카라 Starliner couldn’t be clearer. While Boeing라이브 바카라 Starliner suffered major technical issues, delaying Sunita Williams’ return by nine months, SpaceX라이브 바카라 Crew Dragon has successfully completed multiple crewed missions since 2020. SpaceX has now become NASA라이브 바카라 preferred partner for astronaut transport.

This mission further cements SpaceX라이브 바카라 dominance in commercial spaceflight, proving that its technology is more reliable, cost-effective, and capable of handling critical missions.

PM Modi on Tuesday wrote a letter to Sunita Williams and conveyed his greetings to the astronauts. “I convey to you greetings from the people of India. At a programme today, I met the noted astronaut Mike Massimino. During the course of our conversation, your name came up and we discussed how proud we are of you and your work. Following this interaction, I could not stop myself from writing to you,” PM Modi wrote in the letter.

NASA has confirmed that the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying Sunita Williams and her team undocked successfully from the ISS at 10:35 AM ET on March 18. The next phase of live coverage will begin at 2:15 AM ET on March 19, just before the final reentry and splashdown.

Mission managers continue monitoring weather conditions to ensure a safe landing off Florida라이브 바카라 coast. NASA and SpaceX will finalize the splashdown location based on wave height, wind speeds, and overall sea conditions.

The departure phase 1 burn is the longest burn out of all the 10 burns to the Dragon spacecraft, and it is complete. Next is the Departure phase 2 burn which will happen in about 45 minutes. This will send the Crew 9 to a distance of approximately 22 miles.

The phase 2 will take place at 3:41 pm IST. Once these departure burns are completed, it will prepare the spacecraft for its splashdown.

As Sunita Williams is set to return home after nine months on the International Space Station, Dinesh Rawal, Sunita Williams cousin brother in Gujarat, expressed happiness and said she is the pride of the nation.

"Everyone in the family, including her mother, brother and sister, is happy that she is coming back home. Our entire family is delighted and eagerly awaits her return... We have started offering prayers and visited many temples for her safety... It is a huge day for us... She is the pride of the nation... We are doing a 'Yagna' for her return and will distribute sweets upon her return," Rawal told ANI.

Residents of Sunita Williams' ancestral village in Gujarat's Mehsana district are gearing up for Diwali-like festivities on Wednesday morning to celebrate her scheduled return to Earth after a nine-month stay at the International Space Station.

Williams has been in the thoughts and prayers of the villagers, eagerly awaiting her safe return.

Jhulasan village, known as the ancestral home of Williams' father, Deepak Pandya, is alive with excitement. Villagers have been praying for her safety, with many offering special prayers and lighting an Akhand Jyot (eternal flame) at the local temple of Goddess Dola Mata.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh has called NASA astronaut Sunita Williams a "daughter of India", as the world awaits her return along with Butch Wilmore, both of whom have spent nearly nine months on the International Space Station.

Singh said the country is "proud" of her and praying for her safe return.

"...She (Sunita Williams), being a daughter of India, has made the entire world proud...She has successfully accomplished the task that she was assigned to. While all of us pray for a safe return, we also feel proud of her...A very pleasant coincidence is the fact that today itself, Prime Minister Modi made a statement on Maha Kumbh in the Parliament and incidentally, Sunita also expressed her best wishes for the Kumbh...," Singh told ANI.

The minister also referred to Sunita Williams' Indian roots in Gujarat and highlighted that Indian space scientists are making waves internationally.

"There is a very deep connection between her and India and of course Gujarat, the state that she belongs to. This is also an indication of the fact that most of the space agencies outside India, including NASA, are now having Indian boys and girls leading most of their important missions...," he said to ANI.

Upon their return to Earth, both astronauts are expected to undergo significant physiological and psychological changes as they on their way to return to Earth after an extended stay of nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS).