Sunita Williams Homecoming Countdown Begins. Watch The Moment When Crew-9 Undocked From The ISS

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore along with two other astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov have successfully undocked from the International Space Station and now heading to Earth in their much-awaited and long-delayed journey back home. 

The mission, which was initially planned as a brief 8-day test flight aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, got extended due to technical issues with their vehicle. NASA astronauts, who were stuck at the ISS for more than nine months, are now prepping up for a splashdown off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of America at 5:57 pm. The hatch was closed at 8:15 AM IST. The NASA has now shared the historic moment when the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying four Crew-9 members undocked from the station at 1:05 AM EDT. Watch - 

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As the SpaceX dragon undocked from the ISS, now it is a 17-hour journey for the astronauts to return to Earth. The splashdown is expected to happen at 3:27 AM IST. The Mission Control and Dragon have confirmed that the Dragon Freedom has now exited the Approach Ellipsoid or AE. NASA is using the cameras and satellites at the ISS to track the weather conditions on Earth, this will help to understand if there is a tornado or strong winds or any other weather conditions so that the Dragon can lead to a safe splashdown.

Step by step pictures - SpaceX Crew-9 Undocking