NASA’s Crew-9 return to Earth in SpaceX spacecraft after 17-hour journey: video

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts have successfully returned to Earth after completing the agency’s ninth commercial crew rotation mission.  

Astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, together with fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, successfully splashed down in the Gulf of America, off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, at 17:57 local time, NASA announced in a statement. 

Welcome home, @AstroHague, @Astro_Suni, Butch, and Aleks! Crew-9 splashed down safely in the water off the coast of Florida near Tallahassee on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.Hague, Gorbunov, Williams, and Wilmore have returned to Earth from a long-duration science expedition… pic.twitter.com/nWdRqaSTTq— NASA Astronauts (@NASA_Astronauts) March 19, 2025

Their journey home began on March 18, 2025, with the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft leaving the International Space Station’s (ISS) Harmony module at 05:05 local time. The journey took around 17 hours in total. 

After a successful journey through space, the spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and slowed its descent with successful deployments of two drogue parachutes and four main parachutes. This ensured a safe splashdown off the coast of Florida. 

Splashdown confirmed! #Crew9 is now back on Earth in their @SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. pic.twitter.com/G5tVyqFbAu— NASA (@NASA) March 18, 2025

Crews on the SpaceX recovery ship, including two fast boats, have secured the Dragon capsule and ensured the spacecraft was safe for recovery, NASA said. As the boat teams completed their work, the recovery ship moved into position to hoist the Dragon onto the main deck with the Crew-9 crew members inside.  

Once the ship was on the main deck, the crew exited the spacecraft and underwent medical checks before heading to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. In a post published on X, NASA confirmed that SpaceX Crew-9 landed at Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston at 23:19 local time on March 18, 2025. 

Home sweet home. NASA’s SpaceX #Crew9 touched down at Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston at 11:19 pm CDT, March 18, after their @Space_Station mission and successful splashdown earlier this afternoon. Welcome home, Butch, Suni, Nick, & Aleksandr! pic.twitter.com/fbgWiU9ird— NASA’s Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) March 19, 2025

The Crew-9 mission began a little differently than usual since Williams and Wilmore were already aboard the space station when Hague and Gorbunov arrived on the Crew-9 spacecraft in September 2024.  

Williams and Wilmore spent an unexpected nine months on the ISS and have remained there since June 2024. Arrived as the first crewed mission for the Boeing Starliner capsule, their stay was extended due to technical problems with the spacecraft, which returned to Earth unmanned in September 2024.  

During their prolonged stay, Wilmore and Williams were fully incorporated into Expedition 72 team and began research and other scientific work aboard the space station along with other crew members.   

During their mission, Williams and Wilmore traveled 121,347,491 miles, spent 286 days in space, and completed 4,576 orbits around Earth. Meanwhile, Hague and Gorbunov traveled 72,553,920 miles during their mission, spent 171 days in space, and completed 2,736 orbits around Earth. The post NASA’s Crew-9 return to Earth in SpaceX spacecraft after 17-hour journey: video appeared first on AeroTime.

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