Boeing Starliner astronauts Suni Williams (R) and Butch Wilmore (L) pose with SpaceX Crew-9 members NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov inside the vestibule between the International Space Station and SpaceX Dragon capsule. The four will return to Earth on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of NASA
Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stranded at the International Space Station for nine months, will finally return to Earth, one day earlier than expected, NASA said Monday.
The Boeing Starliner crew will undock from space station Tuesday at 1:05 a.m. EDT to start their return trip alongside two SpaceX Crew-9 members, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who are wrapping up a six-month mission at there. Advertisement
The SpaceX Dragon capsule, which carried four astronauts of the Crew-10 mission to space station Sunday, is expected to splash down 17 hours later at about 5:57 p.m. EDT Tuesday off the coast of Florida.
“Two days after Crew-10 arrived at the Space Station, Dragon and Crew-9 are set to depart Tuesday,” SpaceX wrote Monday in a post on X.
Two days after Crew-10 arrived at the @Space_Station, Dragon and Crew-9 are set to depart on Tuesday, March 18 → https://t.co/ZZEmGU8Aar pic.twitter.com/Qrpd1Rq40j— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 17, 2025
NASA had initially targeted a Wednesday undocking and flight home, but decided to move it up a day “based on favorable conditions forecast for the evening of Tuesday,” the space agency said in a statement. Advertisement
“The updated return target continues to allow the space station crew members time to complete handover duties, while providing operational flexibility ahead of less favorable weather conditions expected for later in the week,” NASA said.
Williams and Wilmore launched the first crewed test flight of Starliner, which Boeing had hoped would become a second vehicle for NASA, on June 5.
As Starliner approached the space station, five of the capsule’s thrusters malfunctioned. That malfunction, which was a separate issue from the helium leaks in Starliner’s propulsion system, delayed the capsule’s docking.
While the astronauts were scheduled to spend only eight days at space station, NASA returned Starliner to Earth unmanned in September after it was determined too risky to carry a crew.
On Sunday, the Crew-10 mission, carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, arrived at the space station.
Crew-10 lifted off Friday night from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after crews resolved an air pocket issue in the hydraulics system for the clamp arm supporting the Falcon 9 rocket.
Ayers, McClain, Onishi and Peskov will conduct science experiments aboard space station for the next six months, as Hague and Gorbunov have done since arriving in September. Advertisement
While Williams and Wilmore have repeatedly claimed they were not “stranded” in space, they admit the uncertainty over the last nine months likely took a toll on their families waiting from Earth.
Earlier this month, Williams told reporters she and Wilmore have found their extended stay on the space station exciting.
“Every day is interesting because we’re up in space and it’s a lot of fun,” she said.
