Sunita Williams' Return To Earth: NASA Reveals Date — All You Need To Know
Now, with Crew-10's launch cleared for Mar. 12, the final phase of Williams and Wilmore’s return seems to be in motion.
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally set to return to Earth. They had embarked on a 10-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in June 2024 but ended up staying for nearly 10 months. Their extended stay was a result of technical issues with their original spacecraft.
NASA has now said that SpaceX's Crew-10 mission has been cleared for launch this week, with Williams and Wilmore expected to return to Earth by Mar. 16.
Williams and Wilmore lifted off aboard Boeing's Starliner on Jun. 5, 2024, for what was initially planned as a 10-day mission. But, complications arose when the spacecraft experienced thruster malfunctions during its approach and docking at the ISS. The issue led to an investigation by NASA and Boeing, ultimately deeming the Starliner unsafe for a crewed return journey.
As a result, the spacecraft returned to Earth unmanned in September 2024, leaving Williams and Wilmore stranded aboard the ISS.
With the Starliner ruled out, NASA turned to Elon Musk’s SpaceX for a solution. The agency decided to bring the astronauts back aboard the Crew-9 mission, which had launched in September 2024 with only two crew members — NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov — making room for Williams and Wilmore's return.
Originally, Crew-9 was set to complete its six-month mission and return to Earth in February 2025. However, logistical changes resulted in delays. Now, with Crew-10's launch cleared for Mar. 12, the final phase of Williams and Wilmore’s return seems to be in motion.
NASA's SpaceX Crew-10: Launch Date, Time And More
Crew-10 is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi and Kirill Peskov. Due to delays in the construction of a new Crew Dragon spacecraft, they will fly aboard the Endurance capsule instead.
According to a NASA release, McClain, selected as an astronaut in 2013, will be embarking on her second spaceflight. Ayers, selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021, will be making her first trip to space. Onishi, a JAXA astronaut since 2009, earlier spent 113 days in orbit and was the first Japanese astronaut to robotically capture the Cygnus spacecraft. Peskov, selected as a cosmonaut in 2018, will also be making his spaceflight debut with Crew-10.
Crew-10 is set to launch at 7:48 p.m. EDT on Mar. 12. After the new crew arrives and completes a handover period, four astronauts, including Williams and Wilmore, will return to Earth aboard another Dragon spacecraft, marking the end of the Crew-9 mission. NASA astronaut Nick Hague will pilot the spacecraft from undocking to splashdown, bringing back Williams, Wilmore and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
If all goes according to plan, Crew-9 will undock on Mar. 16 after a two-day handover period from Mar. 14 to Mar. 15. But, should Crew-10's launch face any setbacks, Crew-9's return will also be postponed. NASA has backup launch windows on Mar. 13 at 7:35 p.m. and Mar. 14 at 7:04 p.m., which could shift Crew-9's return to either on Mar. 17 or Mar. 18.
