Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who spent over nine months at the International Space Station (ISS) due to technical issues, have finally begun their return journey to Earth.
According to NASA, the duo undocked from the ISS at 10:35 AM IST on Tuesday, embarking on a 17-hour journey home. Their spacecraft, SpaceX’s Dragon, is expected to splash down off the coast of Florida at approximately 3:27 AM IST on Wednesday.
Williams and Wilmore initially traveled to the ISS in June last year aboard Boeing’s Starliner for what was supposed to be a short-duration mission to test the spacecraft’s capabilities. However, due to propulsion system malfunctions, the Starliner was deemed unfit for their return trip and was instead sent back unmanned.
Now, after an extended stay in orbit, the astronauts are set to reunite with their families as they finally make their long-awaited return to Earth.
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