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.
Tripura’s Biotechnology department honoured with SKOCH Award 2025: Minister Animesh Debbarma
The Biotechnology department of the Tripura government is honoured with the prestigious SKOCH award 2025 for the remarkable contribution in College Biotech Club project, said science and technology minister Animesh Debbarma on Thursday.
Tripura Assembly's Budget session to begin on Friday
The Budget session of the Tripura Assembly will start on Friday and apart from the budget for fiscal 2025-26, some important bills and reports will be tabled during the session.
Reliance Jio successfully celebrates 54th National Safety Week in Tripura
Reliance Jio successfully celebrated the 54th National Safety Week across Tripura recently. The initiative, aimed at fostering a culture of safety and well-being among employees, was inaugurated with great enthusiasm, aligning with this year’s theme: "Safety and Well-being: Crucial for Viksit Bharat."