The Dragon capsule separated from the International Space Station on Tuesday morning, sending NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth after a nine-month stay in the orbiting lab.
The two astronauts, along with Crew-9 crew members NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, were aboard the SpaceX capsule when it separated from the ISS at 1:05 a.m. ET, clearing the way for them to begin the 17-hour flight back home.
The SpaceX Dragon is expected to land off the coast of Florida on Tuesday around 5:57 p.m. ET.
Williams and Wilmore launched to the ISS on June 5 as part of the first crewed test flight of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, expecting to stay in orbit for just eight days.
However, Starliner was returned to Earth without a crew due to issues with the spacecraft, including a five-engine failure during approach and a helium leak in the engine system, which caused a delay in docking, leaving the pair stranded on the ISS.
After months of delays and President Donald Trump's plea last month to his ally and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to “take them,” Williams and Wilmore are finally returning home.
The 286 days Williams and Wilmore spent in space are among the longest single missions in NASA history, though well short of the 371-day record set by astronaut Frank Rubio.
While on board, Williams performed two spacewalks, both in January, bringing her total spacewalk time to more than 62 hours — a new NASA record for total time spent in space by a woman.
The Dragon capsule is expected to land off the coast of Florida at 5:57 p.m. ET, where it will be met by a recovery ship.
Sourse: www.upi.com
