Adapted by:
Matías S. Zavia
WriterAerospace and energy industries journalist at Xataka.
Alba Mora
WriterAn established tech journalist, I entered the world of consumer tech by chance in 2018. In my writing and translating career, I've also covered a diverse range of topics, including entertainment, travel, science, and the economy.
On Tuesday, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams returned to Earth after nine months on the International Space Station. This isn’t an unusually long duration for astronauts–some Russian crews have spent three times as long in orbit. However, Wilmore and Williams’ mission was initially meant to last just over a week. What followed became one of NASA’s most controversial decisions in recent years.
Express Rotation
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump have used the situation to criticize NASA. However, regardless of what they say, the two astronauts weren’t marooned. Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft transported them to the ISS in June and returned empty to Earth due to a thruster problems. This issue caused NASA managers to lose confidence in the safety of returning their astronauts.
Wilmore and Williams were initially reassigned to SpaceX’s Crew-8 mission. Had an emergency occurred on the ISS between August and September, they would’ve returned on that spacecraft, seated under the other four crew members without the proper suits. In September, Crew-9 arrived at the ISS with two vacant seats and two suits for both astronauts, meaning their situation was regularized.
Since then, Wilmore and Williams had a clear return plan. As soon as the four replacement astronauts from SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission arrived, they would return to Earth alongside their two Crew-9 mission mates. There were some delays caused by technical issues. For instance, the original Crew Dragon spacecraft assigned to Crew-10 wasn’t ready and had to be replaced. However, political pressures ultimately expedited the process.
Crew-10 arrived at the ISS in the early hours of Monday morning. 24 hours later, the Crew-9 mission undocked to reenter the atmosphere and return to Earth. Astronauts typically spend more time together catching up on life aboard the orbiting station, but this time it was a quick rotation.
The Return Flight
Clad in their SpaceX suits, Wilmore and Williams said goodbye to their crewmates. Then, they entered the Crew Dragon spacecraft alongside NASA’s Nick Hague and Roscosmos’ Aleksandr Gorbunov, the other two crew members of the Crew-9 mission.
The SpaceX spacecraft autonomously undocked from the ISS and sped away using its thrusters. Over the next 17 hours, Crew Dragon maneuvered to reduce its altitude.
The most delicate maneuver occurred 12 minutes before splashdown. The spacecraft detached from its service module and fired its engines to initiate deorbit. It then began its atmospheric reentry. It became surrounded by plasma and temporarily lost communication due to the high speeds at which it passed through the atmospheric gases.
When it reached an altitude of 18,000 feet, two pilot parachutes deployed to slow the spacecraft, followed by four main parachutes at 6,400 feet to cushion the splashdown. The Dragon spacecraft touched down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Tallahassee at a speed of 25 feet per second, shedding its parachutes. At 5:57 p.m. ET / 2:57 p.m. PT, Wilmore and Williams returned home after nine months of scientific work and ISS maintenance. The mission had come to a close.
Images | NASA
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