Sunita Williams return LIVE: The four-member crew, including Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore, posed for a photograph before undocking from the ISS.

Sunita Williams return LIVE: Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore, with astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, are preparing to return to the Earth after a nine-month-long overstay at the International Space Station (ISS). Their return to Earth is part of a contingency plan devised by NASA with technical assistance from the world’s richest man, Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX….Read More

Sunita Williams return | Key points

• The four-member crew is poised to undock from the ISS at 1:05 am ET (10:35 am IST) and begin a 17-hour trip back to Earth.
• The replacement crew will be handed over the responsibilities of the mission before Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore return to Earth.
• Their return was scheduled to begin initially on Wednesday night, but NASA postponed the journey as unfavourable weather are expected to prevail later in the week.
• The four-member crew expected to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico at 5:57 pm ET on Tuesday (3:27 am IST, Wednesday). The exact location of the landing will depend on local weather conditions.
• ‘Butch and Suni’ travelled to the ISS in June last year for a scheduled eight-day mission. They were forced to stay as Boeing Starliner capsule developed issues with its propulsion system.
• The duo was the first crew to fly Boeing’s Starliner in a test flight. The faulty capsule returned to Earth last September.
• US President Donald Trump and his close adviser Elon Musk – SpaceX’s CEO – have sought to blame, without evidence, former President Joe Biden for the astronauts’ plight.

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Mar 18, 2025 9:00 AM IST

Sunita Williams return LIVE: The longest stay in space still belongs to Frank Rubio, who stayed aboard the station for 371 days in 2023. The world record was set by Russia’s Valeri Polyakov, who stayed aboard the Mir Space Station for a staggering 437 days in 1994-95.

Mar 18, 2025 8:52 AM IST

NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. (NASA)

Sunita Williams return LIVE: The Crew-10 crew, scheduled to stay on the station for roughly six months, includes NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. They will join three other astronauts to ensure sustained operations at the ISS.

Mar 18, 2025 8:45 AM IST

Sunita Williams return LIVE: NASA is live-streaming the return of Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. The coverage started at 8:15 on Tuesday.

Watch the live streaming here

Mar 18, 2025 8:38 AM IST

Sunita Williams return LIVE: After a successful landing, the crew will be flown to NASA’s Johnson Space Center for a few days of routine post-mission medical checks. Due to challenging survival conditions in space, astronauts face bone and muscle deterioration, radiation exposure, and vision impairment, in addition to the psychological challenges of loneliness.

Mar 18, 2025 8:35 AM IST

The four-member crew, including Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore, posed for a photograph before undocking from the ISS. (NASA)

Mar 18, 2025 8:31 AM IST

Sunita Williams return LIVE: Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore, with astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, are poised to undock from the ISS at 1:05 am ET (10:35 am IST) and begin a 17-hour trip back to Earth.

The crew is expected to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico (renamed as Gulf of America by the Trump administration) at 5:57 pm ET on Tuesday (3:27 am IST, Wednesday). The exact location of the landing will depend on local weather conditions.

Mar 18, 2025 8:28 AM IST

Sunita Williams return LIVE: Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore reached the International Space Station for a scheduled eight-day mission. They were forced to stay as the Boeing Starliner capsule developed issues with its propulsion system.

Mar 18, 2025 8:22 AM IST

Sunita Williams return LIVE: NASA began a live-telecast of the mission as the four-member crew is set to undock from the ISS. The space agency said the crew is performing final suit-up acitivites before undocking from the space station.