NASA’s stranded astronauts finally return home aboard SpaceX capsule: LIVE updates

The stranded NASA astronauts, Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Butch Wilmore, will start with the process of traveling back to the earth by 'undocking' from the international space station.

If everything goes according to plan, the couple will splash the Gulf Coast from Florida from Tuesday before 6 pm et.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QB1RMFY_PQ

This is what to expect from NASA Astronauts Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Butch Wilmore return to Earth after they have been stranded in space for nine months:

10:45 pm Monday: NASA will start streaming a live feed from Williams and Wilmore who board the crew Dragon SpaceCraft, so that the hatch is closed in the hope of starting their departure.

1:05 am Tuesday: Williams and Willmore start the Space Station in Dok, on the way to Earth.

5:57 pm Tuesday: The capsule that Williams and Wilmore carries is planned to splash the Gulf Coast of Florida.

Shortly thereafter: The vehicle will be found in the water and crews will guide the couple to a ship.

Williams and Wilmore will then be flown to the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Health experts have already noticed physical signs of deterioration of Williams and Wilmore, including rapid weight loss. When they splash on Tuesday, the vulnerable duo is placed on pieces and taken immediately for medical evaluations.

Dr. Vinay Gupta, a veteran of the pulmonologist and the Air Force, said that the astronauts might need rehabilitation up to six weeks of rehabilitation to regain their strength, including guided exercise and a nutrition plan.

The crew starts with their rehabilitation program on the same day that they return to Earth, with the first phase focused on walking, flexibility and muscle strengthening.

Who are Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Butch Wilmore, the pair of NASA astronauts stranded in space for nine months?

First, let's see how the journey started. The two were chosen as part of the 2015 -effort of NASA to send American astronauts the space from rockets that launched on American soil -something that had not happened since NASA retired the Space Shuttle program in 2011.

The first eight missions used SpaceX rockets and crew capsules, but the crew -9 mission with Williams and Wilmore was the first to use Boeing's Starliner -and that is where the problems started.

Numerous technical problems with Boeing's Starliner, including Thrust -Mislukings and Helium leaks, drove Nasa to send the capsule home without his crew. Williams and Wilmore have been stranded in space since June 2024.

A long journey to the space, however, was nothing new for Williams and Wilmore, two NASA veterans with a wealth of experience between them.

Suni Williams was selected as astronaut in 1998 by NASA. She was already a member of two Space Expeditions in 2006 and 2012 -322 days spent at the ISS before the crew -9 mission.

In the meantime, her Starliner Co-Pilot Barry 'Butch' Wilmore was also an American navy captain before he came to NASA. The 62-year-old spent 178 days in space to two previous missions before stranding the ISS in 2024.

The entire crew that NASA Astronauten Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Butch Wilmore returns to Earth has just arrived at the capsule that will bring them home.

NASA has said that all systems work on the spacecraft and that they have pleasant weather for a smooth splashdown on Tuesday evening.

The quartet of astronauts from Crew-9 posed for a group photo before the Liège closed on the Dragon crew.

Around 1 o'clock the spacecraft will be a dock from the international space station.