All about SpaceX’s ‘Dragon’ capsule bringing Sunita Williams back to Earth from ISS after 9 months
Two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, finally departed the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday after spending nine months in orbit. They, along with two other crew members, undocked from the ISS aboard SpaceX’s ‘Dragon’ capsule at 1:05 am ET (10.35 am IST), beginning their 17-hour journey back to Earth.
Part of NASA’s Crew-9 mission, the team is set to splash down off Florida’s coast at 5:57 pm ET on Tuesday (3:27 am IST on Wednesday). Their capsule will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, descend under parachutes, and land in the ocean before they undergo routine medical checks and fly to Houston to reunite with their families.
The astronauts’ prolonged stay gained international attention, with media dubbing them “stranded” due to NASA’s decision not to bring them back on their original spacecraft. The situation also highlighted Boeing’s ongoing struggles in the space sector, which have led to leadership changes.
By the time they land, Wilmore and Williams will have spent 286 days in space – longer than a standard six-month ISS mission but significantly shorter than the 371-day record set by NASA astronaut Frank Rubio in 2023 after a Russian spacecraft malfunction.
All you need to know about ‘Dragon’
SpaceX Dragon’s capacity: The Dragon spacecraft can carry up to seven passengers on missions to Earth orbit and beyond. According to SpaceX, it is the only spacecraft currently capable of returning substantial amounts of cargo to Earth and was the first private spacecraft to transport humans to the space station.
SpaceX’s role in NASA astronaut flights: In 2020, SpaceX restored the United States’ ability to send NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) aboard American vehicles for the first time since 2011. Beyond NASA, Dragon can also carry commercial astronauts to Earth orbit, the ISS, or farther.
Dragon’s thruster system: The Dragon spacecraft is equipped with 16 Draco thrusters, which help manoeuvre the spacecraft during its mission. These thrusters perform apogee/perigee adjustments, orbit corrections, and attitude control. Each Draco thruster generates 90 pounds of force in space.
Dragon’s parachute system: Dragon features two drogue parachutes to stabilise the spacecraft during reentry and four main parachutes that help slow it down further before landing.
Recent crew arrival at 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. It docked with the station at 12:04 a.m. EDT (9:34 a.m. IST on Sunday), when the station was about 260 miles above the Atlantic Ocean.
