NASA: The world is eagerly awaiting the much-awaited return of United States astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from space. It seems that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is also well aware of the pulse of people awaiting their return. We say this because the space agency has announced live coverage of Crew-9’s return to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS). The journey will begin with SpaceX Dragon hatch closure preparations at 10:45pm ET Monday, March 17. NASA informed about this through an X post. The news has raised excitement among people around the globe.
NASA in its statement, further confirmed the return of astronauts on Tuesday, March 18 evening. It added, “Splashdown is slated for approximately 5:57pm Tuesday, March 18.”
The statement read: “NASA and SpaceX met on Sunday to assess weather and splashdown conditions off Florida’s coast for the return of the agency’s Crew-9 mission from the International Space Station. Mission managers are targeting an earlier Crew-9 return opportunity based on favorable conditions forecasted for the evening of Tuesday, March 18.”
It added, “Mission managers will continue monitoring weather conditions in the area, as Dragon’s undocking depends on various factors, including spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors. NASA and SpaceX will confirm the specific splashdown location closer to the Crew-9 return.”
.@NASA will provide live coverage of Crew-9’s return to Earth from the @Space_Station, beginning with @SpaceX Dragon hatch closure preparations at 10:45pm ET Monday, March 17.
Splashdown is slated for approximately 5:57pm Tuesday, March 18: https://t.co/yABLg20tKX pic.twitter.com/alujSplsHm
— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) March 16, 2025
Schedule Of Live Coverage Planned By NASA:
Monday, March 17
10:45 p.m. – Hatch closing coverage begins on NASA+
Tuesday, March 18
12:45 a.m. – Undocking coverage begins on NASA+
1:05 a.m. – Undocking
Following the conclusion of undocking coverage, NASA will switch to audio only.
Pending weather conditions at the splashdown sites, continuous coverage will resume on March 18 on NASA+ prior to the start of deorbit burn.
4:45 p.m. – Return coverage begins on NASA+
5:11 p.m. – Deorbit burn (time is approximate)
5:57 p.m. – Splashdown (time is approximate)
7:30 p.m. – Return-to-Earth media conference on NASA+, with the following participants:
- Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
- Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
- Jeff Arend, manager for systems engineering and integration, NASA’s International Space Station, NASA’s International Space Station Office
- Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
Notably, SpaceX and NASA launched the crewed mission to bring back the astronauts on Friday. The two astronauts have been stranded for nine months on the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew-10 mission also launched four crew members to the ISS: NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov to the International Space Station.
