Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, along with NASA’s Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, have returned to Earth after a lengthy journey that turned a planned eight-day mission into a nine-month in space.
The group, part of NASA/SpaceX’s Crew-9, was brought back by SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which safely splashed down off the coast of Florida at 3:27 a.m.
As the recovery operation unfolded, a beautiful and unexpected greeting awaited the astronauts. Dolphins were spotted swimming around the Dragon capsule while it was being retrieved from the ocean.
The playful marine mammals circled the spacecraft, providing an almost magical moment before the capsule was lifted onto the recovery vessel.
The recovery team carefully opened the side hatch of the capsule, marking the first time it had been opened since September.
The astronauts, who had spent months in space, were helped out of the capsule and transported to Houston for a 45-day rehabilitation program.
Crew-9’s return to Earth had its fair share of challenges. Originally, the mission, which was to be the first crewed flight of Boeing's Starliner, was scheduled to last just eight days. However, due to technical issues with the Starliner capsule, Williams and Wilmore were left stranded in space. The propulsion problems with the Starliner led to its return in September without a crew.
Faced with uncertainty about their return, NASA reassigned the astronauts to SpaceX's Crew-9 mission.
In September, SpaceX sent a Dragon spacecraft to retrieve them, but only two crew members were on board, unlike the usual four, to accommodate the stranded astronauts.
The Dragon capsule atop the Falcon 9 rocket was launched for the mission. Crew-10 has replaced Crew-9 at the International Space Station.
Nagpur violence: Rioters tried to molest female police official in Bhaldarpura area, says FIR
A shocking incident has come to light during the violence that rocked the city on Monday night. While the police tried to contain the situation in wake of arson and vandalism, the unruly crowd in Bhaldarpura area tried to tear the uniform of a female police official and molest her.
One dead, several injured in fresh ethnic clash in Manipur's Churachandpur
Fresh ethnic clashes have erupted in Manipur’s Churachandpur district, police said on Wednesday, adding that one person has died and several others were injured.
'The Earth missed you': PM Modi welcomes Sunita Williams and Crew-9 astronauts after extended space mission
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday welcomed the safe return of NASA’s Crew-9, which included astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who had been stranded in space for nearly nine months.
After return to Earth, Sunita Williams undergoes rehabilitation
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have begun a 45-day rehabilitation program to help them adapt to Earth's gravity after spending nine months in space.
Union Minister Chouhan to again hold talks with 28 farmer unions in Chandigarh today
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be meeting farmers again in Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, on Wednesday as part of the Government of India’s outreach with them over their long-pending demands, including a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
India’s daughter Sunita Williams, other astronauts rewritten history of human endurance in space: Rajnath Singh
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised astronaut Sunita Williams and her fellow crew members for their extraordinary achievements in space, following their safe return to Earth.