After an Extended Stay, Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are Set to Return to Earth on Tuesday
NASA has confirmed that US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for over nine months, will return to Earth on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. The astronauts, along with a Russian cosmonaut and another US astronaut, will make the journey back on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft after a replacement crew arrived at the ISS earlier this week.
The pair had been aboard the ISS since June 2024, following issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft during its maiden crewed flight. The spacecraft encountered propulsion problems, rendering it unable to safely return them to Earth. Their return had been delayed for several months as NASA worked to resolve the situation.
NASA announced on Sunday evening that their splashdown off the coast of Florida will now take place at approximately 5.57 pm on Tuesday (Wednesday, 5.57 am Singapore time), earlier than originally scheduled. The delay was caused by weather conditions, and the updated schedule will allow the station’s crew to complete necessary handover tasks before their departure.
Also returning to Earth with Wilmore and Williams will be NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, both of whom had been on the ISS for a regular stay. Their return journey will be broadcast live, starting from Monday evening when preparations for hatch closure begin.
For Wilmore and Williams, this marks the end of an unplanned and much longer-than-expected mission. Initially expected to last only a few days, their stay turned into a nine-month ordeal, far exceeding the usual six-month rotation for astronauts on the ISS. While not a record, their extended stay has attracted significant attention, with people sympathising with the astronauts’ unexpected separation from their families. Additional supplies, such as personal care items and clothing, were sent up to support them during their extended mission.
