NASA has confirmed that astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will return to Earth in late March 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, following an extended stay on the International Space Station (ISS). Originally scheduled for a ten-day mission in June 2024, their stay was prolonged due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
To ensure their safe return, NASA has opted to use SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which will transport Williams, Wilmore, and two other astronauts back to Earth. The crew will experience a controlled reentry, followed by a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico, where recovery teams will retrieve them. The decision to switch spacecraft is part of NASA’s broader plan to maintain a reliable astronaut rotation system and avoid further delays.
As part of the ISS handover process, Crew-10 is set to launch on March 12, 2025, at 7:48 PM EDT, bringing new astronauts to the station, including Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers (NASA), Kirill Peskov (Roscosmos), and Takuya Onishi (JAXA). Williams and Wilmore will remain aboard the ISS for about a week after Crew-10’s arrival before beginning their return journey.
During their extended ISS stay, Williams and Wilmore conducted scientific experiments and participated in reentry simulation training to prepare for their return aboard the Crew Dragon. NASA’s decision to shift from Boeing’s Starliner to SpaceX’s Crew Dragon highlights the challenges of space travel and the need for reliable spacecraft to ensure astronaut safety. With the Crew-9 return, NASA continues its commitment to uninterrupted space missions, refining its commercial crew program to enhance the efficiency and security of future operations.
