Sunita Williams And Butch Wilmore To Return After 286 Days In Space - What Is Done After A Successful Splashdown?

Washington DC: NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams , Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague and ROSCOSMOS Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov onboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft are heading towards a 17-hour long journey to reach back to Earth. The crew is expected to splashdown at 5:57 PM EDT (2:57 PM PDT) on March 18, 2025 off the coast of Florida.

After safely entering the Earth’s atmosphere, four parachutes would be deployed to slow down the terminal velocity of the Module/Spacecraft for it to successfully land on the surface of a water body. Spacecrafts are designed to land on water bodies as they act as a natural impact absorbent, hence the term “splashdown”. This approach eliminates the need for heavy braking systems. 

The structural design of the Module/spacecraft with a curved base, hollow body, and airtight doors and windows enable it to float safely on water. They can either land in the orientation of “Base Down, Nose Up” which is relatively safer and easier for astronauts to exit the spacecraft  or “Nose Down” in which the astronauts face downwards which makes it relatively difficult for them to exit the module. Nowadays, spacecrafts have their inbuilt Emergency Rafts to provide extra time of floatation. 

Also Read: How Will The Crew-9 Onboard the SpaceX Dragon Re-Enter the Earth?

The crew is expected to splashdown at 5:57 PM EDT (2:57 PM PDT) on March 18, 2025, off the coast of Florida, south of Tallahassee at one of the seven potential splashdown sites, depending upon the local weather conditions. They will be received by the SpaceX retrieval team. SpaceX Dragon Retrieval Vessels named “SHANNON” or “MEGAN” would be used for the recovery of the Returned Astronauts. 

After being recovered by the retrieval team, the returned astronauts and cosmonauts will be taken to the hospital for their post-flight medical examination as a precaution.

Astronaut Sunita Williams is scheduled to hold a Press Conference at 7:30PM EDT.