What is SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which is bringing Sunita Williams back to Earth?

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore finally departed the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, having spent nine months in space. They separated from the ISS on the SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft at 1:05 a.m. ET (10:35 a.m. IST), initiating their 17-hour ride back to Earth along with two other members.

As part of NASA’s Crew-9 mission, Wilmore and Williams will splash down in the ocean near Florida’s coast at 5:57 p.m. ET on Tuesday (3:27 a.m. IST on Wednesday). Their ship will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, parachute down, and splash down in the ocean. Following landing, they will be given routine medical exams before flying to Houston to join their families.

SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft: A Reliable Transport for Astronauts

Dragon’s Capability: The Dragon spacecraft can carry a maximum of seven passengers to Earth orbit and beyond. SpaceX emphasizes it as the only spacecraft that can bring significant cargo back to Earth and the first-ever private vehicle to carry humans to the ISS.

NASA-SpaceX Partnership: SpaceX returned the United States’ capability to transport NASA astronauts to and from the ISS aboard American spacecraft in 2020. In addition to NASA missions, Dragon also offers commercial astronaut missions to Earth orbit and beyond.

Thruster and Parachute System: The Dragon spacecraft contains 16 Draco thrusters that control maneuvering, orbit control, and attitude. Every Draco thruster can provide 90 pounds of force in space. The spacecraft releases two drogue parachutes to stabilize during reentry and four main parachutes to land gently.

Extended Mission Spawns Global Interest

The extended stay of the astronauts drew international attention, with the media referring to them as “stranded” after NASA decided not to bring them back on their original spacecraft. Boeing’s continued problems in the space business, which led to leadership turnover, contributed to this extended mission.

When they arrive, Wilmore and Williams will have been in space for 286 days—longer than the typical six-month ISS mission but much shorter than NASA astronaut Frank Rubio’s 371-day record in 2023 following a Russian spacecraft failure.

New Crew Members Arrive at ISS

As Wilmore and Williams head back to Earth, a new crew has reached the ISS. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov arrived at the ISS on Sunday aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. The docking took place at 12:04 a.m. EDT (9:34 a.m. IST) when the station was about 260 miles over the Atlantic Ocean.