SpaceX dragon begins journey back to earth
NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, finally departed the International Space Station (ISS) on SpaceX’s Dragon on Tuesday after spending nine months in orbit. Along with two other crew members, they undocked from the ISS aboard SpaceX’s ‘Dragon’ capsule at 1:05 am ET, beginning their 17-hour journey back to Earth.
Capsule re-entry and splashdown
As part of NASA’s Crew-9 mission, the team is expected to splash down off Florida’s coast at 5:57 pm ET on Tuesday. The Dragon capsule will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, descend under parachutes, and land in the ocean before the crew undergoes routine medical checks and flies to Houston to reunite with their families.
The astronauts’ extended stay on the ISS attracted global attention, with media referring to them as “stranded” due to NASA’s decision not to return them to their original spacecraft. This also shed light on Boeing’s ongoing struggles in the space sector, which have resulted in leadership changes.
By the time they land, Wilmore and Williams will have spent 286 days in space—longer than a typical six-month ISS mission but shorter than the record 371-day stay set by NASA astronaut Frank Rubio in 2023 after a Russian spacecraft malfunction.
All you need to know about ‘Dragon’
SpaceX Dragon’s capacity
The Dragon spacecraft can carry up to seven passengers on missions to Earth orbit and beyond. According to SpaceX, it is the only spacecraft currently capable of returning substantial cargo to Earth and was the first private spacecraft to transport humans to the ISS.
In 2020, SpaceX restored the United States’ ability to send NASA astronauts to and from the ISS using American vehicles for the first time since 2011. Beyond NASA missions, Dragon can also carry commercial astronauts to Earth orbit, the ISS, or beyond.
Dragon’s thruster system
The Dragon spacecraft is equipped with 16 Draco thrusters, which assist in maneuvering during the mission. These thrusters handle apogee/perigee adjustments, orbit corrections, and attitude control. Each Draco thruster generates 90 pounds of force in space.
Dragon’s parachute system
Dragon features two drogue parachutes that help stabilize the spacecraft during reentry, followed by four main parachutes that slow it down further before landing.
NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov arrived at the ISS on Sunday aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. It docked with the station at 12:04 a.m. EDT while the ISS was 260 miles above the Atlantic Ocean.