Sunita Williams Return to Earth: Date, time and how to watch live streaming of Crew-9 splashdown

The stage is all set for NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to finally set to return to Earth after spending nearly nine months at the International Space Station (ISS).

Originally scheduled to stay at the ISS for a week in June last year, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore had to over nine months due to technical issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which had to facilitate their return.

The astronauts' return to Earth is part of a contingency plan devised by NASA with technical assistance from Elon Musk's company, SpaceX. The company's Crew Dragon capsule arrived on the space station Saturday night to rescue stranded “Butch and Suni.”

Where to Watch Sunita Williams’ Homecoming Live

The Dragon spacecraft hatch was closed at 8:15 am on Tuesday (today) IST. Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore, with astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, are poised to undock from the ISS at 1:05 am ET (10:35 am IST on Tuesday) and begin a seventeen-hour trip back to Earth.

As per the schedule shared by NASA on its website, the crew is expected to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico (renamed Gulf of America by the Trump administration) at 5:57 pm EST on Tuesday, March 18 (3:27 am IST, Wednesday, March 19). The exact landing location will depend on local weather conditions, NASA said.

Where to watch?

NASA is providing live coverage of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 return to Earth from the International Space Station, beginning with Dragon spacecraft hatch closure on  https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew since Monday, March 17.

NASA TV: The event is also being live-streamed on NASA TV through their official website.

YouTube: NASA's official YouTube channel will also broadcast the event live since 10.15 am when the undocking begins.

SpaceX's Crew-10 landing and NASA Live streaming 

Tuesday, March 18 - IST

10:15 AM IST – Undocking preparations kick-off

10:30 AM IST – Undocking

Following the conclusion of undocking coverage, NASA will switch to audio-only. Pending weather conditions at the splashdown sites, NASA said continuous coverage would resume before the deorbit burn starts on Wednesday morning. 

Wednesday, March 19 - IST

2.15 AM IST, March 19: Return coverage begins on NASA

2:41 AM IST, March 19:  Deorbit burn (time is approximate)

3:37 AM IST, March 19: The splashdown of the spacecraft is scheduled for approximately 3:37 AM IST, Wednesday, March 19.