5 months ago
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(NewsNation) — NASA’s two stuck astronauts began their travel backmost to Earth with SpaceX connected Tuesday aft a melodramatic marathon mission that began with a troubled Boeing trial flight more than 9 months ago.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, on with 2 different astronauts, near the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft aboriginal Tuesday morning. The instrumentality travel volition instrumentality astir 17 hours, with splashdown acceptable for 5:57 p.m. ET disconnected the Florida coast, upwind permitting.
As the Dragon approaches its splashdown zone, a bid of parachutes volition unfastened to dilatory the aircraft's descent to 15 miles per hour, aiming for a gentle splashdown into the ocean.
A betterment vas volition invited the astronauts backmost to Earth.
Medical teams volition beryllium disposable to assistance the crew, arsenic astronauts often acquisition musculus weakness successful their archetypal days backmost to Earth aft extended periods successful microgravity.
The astronauts volition past committee a NASA pitchy to the Johnson Space Center successful Houston, wherever their families are eagerly awaiting their return.
NASA volition code the nationalist and media astatine 7:30 p.m. ET to supply updates connected the mission.
Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams stuck connected ISS since June
Wilmore and Williams had been expected to instrumentality conscionable a week oregon truthful aft launching Boeing’s Starliner unit capsule connected June 5. However, galore problems cropped up connected the mode to the abstraction station, and NASA yet sent the Starliner backmost bare and transferred the trial pilots to SpaceX, pushing their homecoming to February. Then, SpaceX capsule issues added different month’s delay.
Sunday’s accomplishment of a alleviation unit meant Wilmore and Williams could yet permission the ISS. NASA dismissed the squad a small early, fixed the iffy upwind forecast aboriginal this week. They checked retired with NASA’s Nick Hague and Russia’s Alexander Gorbunov, who arrived successful their ain SpaceX capsule past autumn with 2 bare seats reserved for the Starliner duo.
"Just wanted to accidental convey you to everybody astir the satellite connected the power centers, friends and household who are retired there, each our trainers, each of the folks who person got america acceptable to travel present and alert successful space," Williams said. "We are perfectly thankful for that opportunity, and hopefully we did you proud."
Williams said she's looking guardant to agelong walks with her dogs and an water swim. Wilmore said he's acceptable to get backmost to his religion and odor freshly chopped grass.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
