Smiling And Waving: How Sunita Williams Stepped Out Of Spacecraft After Return To Earth | Video

Last Updated:March 19, 2025, 05:52 IST

Sunita Williams arrived back to Earth on Tuesday (local time) after a nine-month stay in space. She set her foot back on the planet with a big smile on her face and a cheerful waving of hand.

Sunita Williams returns to Earth (Photo: X/NASA)

Veteran astronaut Sunita Williams set her foot back on Earth moments after she, aboard SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft, splashed down off the Florida coast on Wednesday.

The Dragon touched down the water at 3.27 am IST, bringing cheers to the officials monitoring the rescue operation which was necessitated by the unexpected nine-month stay of Williams and her NASA colleague Butch Wilmore due to technical issues in the Boeing’s new Starliner crew capsule.

As the capsule arrived on Earth, it was lifted to a recovery vessel, and its side hatch was opened for the first time since September last year. All four astronauts were helped their way out.

Crew9 commander Nick Hague was the first to come out of the Dragon with the assistance of the ground crew, followed by Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

Sunita Williams then emerged out of the Dragon, waving her hands and smiling, being helped out by the officials, feeling Earth’s gravity – in contrast to the microgravity of space.

Wilmore was the last to come out of the capsule.

Cheers continued to echo the place as the astronauts came out of the Dragon safely.

They had departed from space at 1:05 am EDT on Tuesday and covered a journey of 17 hours from ISS to the Earth. Now, they will be moved to Houston for a 45-day rehabilitation programme.

To much of their surprise, they were welcomed by a group of dolphins as the spacecraft splashed down into the waters.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX was responsible for safely bringing Crew-9 back to Earth. The mission was carried out using the Dragon capsule, launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Crew-10 has now taken over operations at the ISS.

Williams and Wilmore had flown to the ISS on June 5 last year aboard Boeing’s Starliner for what was meant to be an eight-day mission. However, propulsion issues with the Starliner left them stranded in orbit. Deemed unfit for a crewed return, the capsule was sent back to Earth unoccupied in September.

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