NASA, SpaceX Crew-9 Returns on Crew Dragon Freedom After 171 Days in Space

NASA and SpaceX prepare for the return of Crew-9 astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft. The scheduled splashdown took place on March 18, at approximately 5:57 p.m. EDT in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Florida. The return mission includes four crew members, two of whom originally arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Boeing's Starliner. The return was initially planned for March 19 but was rescheduled due to weather concerns. The live coverage of the event will begin at 4:45 p.m. EDT (2045 GMT).

Crew-9's Journey and Returning Astronauts

As per reports, according to NASA, the Crew Dragon Freedom undocked from the ISS's Harmony module at around 1:05 a.m. EDT. The descent towards Earth is planned to be initiated by a deorbit burn scheduled for 5:11 p.m. EDT. The Crew-9 mission, which launched on September 28, 2024, included NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov. They will be joined on the return flight by Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, who reached the ISS aboard Boeing's Starliner on June 5, 2024. Due to technical difficulties encountered during Starliner's journey, the decision was made to return the astronauts aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon instead.

Duration of the Mission and Final Landing Site

Crew Dragon Freedom will have spent 171 days in space by the time it lands. Hague and Gorbunov will have traveled approximately 72.5 million statute miles, completing 2,736 orbits around Earth. Williams and Wilmore will have spent 286 days in orbit, covering over 121 million statute miles. SpaceX and NASA have designated the Gulf of Mexico as the landing site. Future crew landings under NASA's commercial crew program are expected to take place in the Pacific Ocean.