The long wait is finally over. Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and her colleague Butch Wilmore have landed safely on Earth after remaining stranded at the International Space Station (ISS) for 286 days. Their spacecraft, SpaceX's Crew Dragon 'Freedom', landed safely in the ocean near the coast of Florida, USA, at 3:27 AM on Wednesday (Indian time).
Aside from Sunita and Wilmore, NASA Commander Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov also returned to Earth aboard the same spacecraft. Their return trip to Earth was uneventful as planned.
Extended Stay in Space
Sunita and Wilmore originally flew to the ISS on June 5, 2024, for an 8-day mission. Due to technical problems, their stay was extended to 286 days before they returned safely.
Emotional Farewell Before Departure
The returning astronauts Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Alexander Gorbunov bid emotional farewells to their ISS crewmates before leaving the ISS. They spent a while chatting, posing for photographs, and saying their goodbyes before stepping into the Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft.
- The door of the spacecraft was closed firmly at 8:15 AM on Tuesday (Indian time).
- The undocking began at 10:15 AM, with complete separation attained by 10:35 AM.
The spacecraft then proceeded on a 17-hour journey back to Earth, with a series of rocket maneuvers to chart its exact trajectory.
Re-Entry and Landing Process
Re-entry:
- The four Draco engines burned for 7.5 minutes, nudging the spacecraft towards the target landing area.
- The heat shield of the spacecraft deployed to guard the astronauts from the 1,650°C heat generated through friction in the atmosphere.
- A temporary communication blackout (radio silence) due to plasma buildup during re-entry, added suspense.
Post-re-entry:
- Two drogue chutes deployed at 18,000 feet, reducing the spacecraft’s speed from 560 km/h.
- At 6,500 feet, two main parachutes opened, further slowing the spacecraft to 190 km/h.
- The Crew Dragon gently splashed down in the ocean near Tallahassee, Florida, greeted by applause from the command center.
Recovery Operation
Rescue teams moved very quickly towards them in speedboats and secured the astronauts' safety. The spacecraft was later lifted onto the recovery ship Megane, where the astronauts were extracted with great care.
- Commander Nick Hague was the first to emerge, followed by Alexander Gorbunov, Sunita Williams, and Butch Wilmore.
- Sunita welcomed the recovery team with a smiling face, waving her hands excitedly.
Technical Issues with Starliner
Sunita and Wilmore had initially come to the ISS aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024. On that trip, the Starliner suffered from helium leakage issues. Although the spacecraft landed on the ISS without incident, technical issues raised with it made NASA declare it as unsafe for its return trip. The Starliner thus came back to Earth with no crew members, stranding Sunita and Wilmore on the ISS for a much longer duration.
Tags Cloud
