Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who spent nine months on the International Space Station after being forced to abandon the Boeing Starliner due to engine problems, finally returned to Earth after a successful splashdown Tuesday at 5:57 p.m. ET off the Gulf Coast of Florida under clear blue skies.
The two Starliner astronauts made the 17-plus hour journey from the ISS aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, along with Crew 9 members NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, who has spent the past six months on the space station.
“Dragon splashdown confirmed – welcome to Earth Nick, Suni, Butch and Alex!” SpaceX wrote in a post Tuesday after the landing, along with video of the capsule parachuting into the bay.
Rescue crews opened the Dragon capsule at 6:38 p.m. ET after it was lifted aboard a recovery vessel. The astronauts exited the capsule about 10 minutes later.
Crew 9 commander Hague was the first to exit the capsule, followed by Gorbunov. Both were placed on stretchers for medical examination. Next out was NASA astronaut Williams, who smiled and waved at the recovery teams, followed by Wilmore, who gave a thumbs-up.
“It's amazing that Crew 9 came home. It was a beautiful landing,” Joel Montalbano, associate administrator of NASA's Office of Space Operations, told reporters at a press conference after the splashdown.
“Back in January, the president asked SpaceX what it would take to get this crew home, and I will tell you that at the time that question was asked, we were already looking at the possibilities,” Montalbano said.
“The International Space Station program, the commercial space program, and SpaceX have delivered a plan that we just witnessed,” he added. “On behalf of NASA, I want to thank the administration, and all the teams at NASA, and all the work of the SpaceX teams.”
Steve Stich, manager of NASA's commercial crew program, said they had changed the schedule to Tuesday to coincide with more favorable weather conditions for “a really clean undocking, reentry and landing.”
“It was incredible. Clear skies, very light winds – maybe three or four knots – and very calm seas. We saw dolphins swimming around the capsule, which was really nice,” Stich said, adding that the Dragon “worked really well.”
“It’s great to have Crew 9 and the Freedom capsule back home, and their fourth flight is now in the history books. We’re thrilled. I watched each crew member exit the capsule after landing, and I saw Nick, Suni, Butch, and Alexander step out of the Dragon, smile, and wave,” Stich added. “They’re on the ship now, and we’ll get them back to meet the NASA plane and their families.”
The SpaceX Dragon capsule flew “autonomously” just before 6 p.m. ET, and then drag chutes deployed at 18,000 feet, slowing the capsule to 119 mph. The spacecraft splashed down successfully a few minutes later.
“And splash down! Crew 9 is returning to Earth! Butch and Suni, on behalf of SpaceX, welcome home!” came the signal from Mission Control, causing loud applause.
The SpaceX recovery team raced in boats toward the SpaceX Dragon after splashdown, while jet skis retrieved parachutes from the mostly calm bay. A pod of dolphins was seen swimming around the capsule as the rescuers prepared to remove it from the water.
The SpaceX Dragon was lifted out of the water and placed on a recovery vessel at 6:24 p.m. ET. It took a few extra steps to move it before the crew could exit and be checked by doctors on board.
Williams, Wilmore, Hague and Gorbunov undocked from the ISS early Tuesday morning after conducting a series of leak checks to ensure the safety of the spacecraft and their suits.
The crew splashed down a day ahead of NASA's planned landing schedule due to “favorable weather conditions forecast for Tuesday evening,” the space agency said, though it expressed concerns about
Sourse: www.upi.com
