Sunita Williams Return Live Updates: NASA Duo Kicks Off Homecoming After Nine Months in Orbit

After nine months aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally headed home. The pair, who turned a week-long test into a 286-day epic, undocked Tuesday in a SpaceX Crew Dragon, hauling back a trove of science and grit. Here’s the blow-by-blow on their return and why it’s a big deal.

Mission Rundown

This wasn’t a vacation—it was a marathon.

• Time Up: Launched June 5, 2024, for an eight-day Boeing Starliner test, they stayed 286 days—over nine months—after thruster glitches grounded their ride (NASA, March 18).
• The Grind: They ran 200+ experiments—think 3D-printed organs, plant growth in zero-G—and logged maintenance hours to keep the ISS humming (Hindustan Times, March 18).
• Wins: Williams clocked 608 total space days across three missions, second only to Peggy Whitson among U.S. astronauts; Wilmore hit 464 (AP News, March 18)

Full-fledged drama…
The moment they step out, they'll start walking too.
And according to our PeeM, she'll be in India next week.
Science can take a backseat…
Logic is dying a million deaths.🤭#sunitawilliamsreturn pic.twitter.com/aDZWv7yw2Q

— Piku (@RisingPiku) March 18, 2025

The Ride Back

It’s a 17-hour trek from orbit to ocean—here’s how it’s going down.

• Undocking: The Crew Dragon Freedom split from the ISS at 1:05 AM ET (10:35 AM IST) Tuesday, March 18—NASA’s live feed showed Williams waving, Wilmore grinning (Reuters, March 17).
• Re-entry: After a 5:04 PM ET deorbit burn, the capsule blazed through Earth’s atmosphere at 3,000°F, parachutes popping at 6,500 feet to slow it from 17,000 mph to 16 mph (SpaceX X, March 18).
• Splashdown: They hit the Gulf of Mexico off Tallahassee at 5:57 PM ET (3:27 AM IST, March 19)—dolphins circled the bobbing capsule as recovery teams swooped in (BBC, March 18).

Live Updates

Here’s the play-by-play—timestamped as it happened:

• Undocking Confirmed (1:05 AM ET, March 18): “Freedom’s loose—see you on the ground,” crackled Mission Control. Crew-9—Williams, Wilmore, Nick Hague, and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov—were go (NASA X, March 18).
• Re-entry (5:30 PM ET, March 18): The capsule glowed red-hot over the U.S.; NASA’s stream caught the parachute deploy—two drogues, then four mains. “Nominal burn,” SpaceX’s Kate Tice confirmed (Newsweek, March 18).
• Landing (5:57 PM ET, March 18): Splashdown nailed—Williams emerged first, thumbs up, Wilmore next, both stretchered off for gravity checks. “Crew’s doing great,” NASA’s Steve Stich said (NDTV, March 19).

Why It’s Huge

This mission’s more than a long haul—it’s a game-changer.

• Science Haul: Data from microgravity labs—think bone density studies, cancer cell growth—could tweak Earth medicine and prep for Mars (NASA, March 17).
• Tough Stuff: Nine months of radiation and no-G tested their bodies—Williams ran a virtual Boston Marathon up there. It’s intel for deep-space survival (PBS, Feb 25).
• Role Models: From Gujarat’s Jhulasan village lighting lamps to kids glued to NASA+, they’ve fired up a generation (Times of India, March 18).

What’s Next?

The duo’s back, but the story’s not over.

• Data Dive: Teams at Johnson Space Center will unpack their 121-million-mile journey—4,576 orbits—for breakthroughs (Business Standard, March 18).
• More Missions: Crew-11’s slated for July; Boeing’s Starliner gets a redo after this flop—NASA’s not ditching it yet (Reuters, March 17).
• Crowd Love: Expect Williams and Wilmore on talk shows, STEM panels—PM Modi’s already tweeted a “welcome home” (LiveMint, March 18).

The Wrap-Up

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s splashdown closes a wild chapter—eight days planned, nine months delivered. From Starliner’s stumble to SpaceX’s save, they’ve hauled science, resilience, and a hell of a story back to Earth. As recovery choppers whisk them to Houston, the world’s cheering—and digging into what they’ve brought home. Stay tuned—debrief’s coming.

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