Return of Wilmore and Sunita Williams from ISS:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams have returned to Earth after an unexpectedly long 286-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
- Initially planned for a 8-day mission, their return was delayed due to issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
- They finally came back via SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, highlighting the technological and health challenges of prolonged space travel.
- Starliner Spacecraft and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon developed by Boeing in collaboration with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP), was designed to transport astronauts to and from low Earth orbit (LEO).
- Boeing’s Starliner took Williams and Wilmore to the ISS in 2024 but propulsion issues delayed their return.
- SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is one of the two variants of SpaceX’s Dragon 2 spacecraft, featuring a reusable capsule and launching atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Developed under NASA’s CCP, it primarily ferries astronauts to the ISS. The other variant, Cargo Dragon, transports cargo to the station.
- NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission returned Williams and Wilmore from the ISS aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft named Freedom.
