NASA and SpaceX are preparing for the much-anticipated return of the Crew-9 astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft, carrying four astronauts—including two who initially arrived aboard Boeing’s Starliner—will make a dramatic splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, March 18, at 5:57 p.m. EDT (2157 GMT).
How to Watch the Crew-9 Splashdown Live
For space enthusiasts eager to witness this historic moment, a livestream will be available on Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX and NASA. The broadcast is expected to begin at 4:45 p.m. EDT (2045 GMT), roughly 72 minutes before the scheduled landing.
This event marks SpaceX’s ninth operational return mission under NASA’s commercial crew program and the company’s tenth overall crewed mission back to Earth.
Crew-9’s Journey Home
The four returning astronauts aboard Crew Dragon Freedom are Nick Hague (NASA) – Crew-9 Commander, Aleksandr Gorbunov (Roscosmos) – Mission Specialist, Sunita “Suni” Williams (NASA) – Mission Specialist and Barry “Butch” Wilmore (NASA) – Mission Specialist.
Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov launched the ISS aboard Crew Dragon Freedom on September 28, 2024. Williams and Wilmore, however, initially arrived on June 5, 2024, aboard Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, “Calypso.” Due to technical issues with Starliner’s thrusters, NASA decided to return the spacecraft to Earth without crew, leaving Williams and Wilmore to return aboard Crew-9.
Undocking from ISS: 1:05 a.m. EDT (0505 GMT) – Crew Dragon Freedom successfully separated from the ISS’s Harmony module.
Deorbit Burn Begins: 5:11 p.m. EDT (2111 GMT) – The spacecraft initiates descent back to Earth.
Splashdown: 5:57 p.m. EDT (2157 GMT) – Crew Dragon Freedom is expected to land off the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico.
How Long Have the Astronauts Been in Space?
Upon landing, Crew Dragon Freedom will have completed 171 days in orbit, travelling 72.5 million miles (116.7 million km) and circling Earth 2,736 times.
For Nick Hague, this marks his third spaceflight, bringing his total time in space to 374 days.On his first spaceflight, Gorbunov will return after spending 171 days in orbit.
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, having arrived earlier, will have completed 286 days in space, with Sunita Williams reaching a career total of 608 days—making her the second-most experienced U.S. astronaut after Peggy Whitson.
Final NASA Splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico
NASA and SpaceX have confirmed that Crew-9 will be the last NASA crewed mission to land in the Gulf of Mexico. Future flights under the agency’s commercial crew program will instead target landings in the Pacific Ocean off California’s coast, avoiding potential risks from spacecraft debris.
