Sunita Williams' return to earth: Know date, time, when and where to watch LIVE

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been stuck in space for nearly nine months, since June 2024, though their mission was planned for an eight-day stay. These nine months have been a huge challenge. The astronauts were stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) because of serious technical failures in their spacecraft. But the good news now is that the two senior astronauts have a planned arrival on earth. The entire world is now curiously waiting for them to return to earth. For Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s safe return NASA has worked out a plan.  

The two astronauts have appreciated and thanked US President Donald Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk for aiding with their safe return. Williams and Wilmore played a crucial role in advancing scientific research and ensuring the ISS's smooth operation during their extended stay. Their remarkable mission highlights the importance of endurance and flexibility in prolonged space exploration. 

Sunita Williams’ return to earth 

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will return to earth aboard Elon Musk’s SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, according to NASA. NASA has initiated their return with the technical help from Elon Musk's company SpaceX. The spacecraft landed at the ISS on last Saturday night to bring back stranded astronauts. Sunita Williams return time will be according to the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule spacecraft is planned to release from the ISS at around 1:05 a.m. Eastern Time (11:35 am) and the scheduled splashdown will take place off the coast of Florida at approx 5:57 p.m. ET on March 18 (March 19, 4:27 a.m IST). 

Sunita Williams return live 

Sunita Williams return live can be seen through NASA’s live coverage which will include hatch closure, undocking, and splashdown. “NASA will provide live coverage of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 return to Earth from the International Space Station, beginning with Dragon spacecraft hatch closure preparations at 10:45 p.m. EDT Monday, March 17,” said NASA’s news release.  

.@NASA will provide live coverage of Crew-9’s return to Earth from the @Space_Station, beginning with @SpaceX Dragon hatch closure preparations at 10:45pm ET Monday, March 17.

Splashdown is slated for approximately 5:57pm Tuesday, March 18: https://t.co/yABLg20tKX pic.twitter.com/alujSplsHm

— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) March 16, 2025

Sunita Williams Return time and date 

NASA television will stream the live event which can be seen on their website. NASA gave a detailed schedule as follows: 

For Crew-9 return, NASA’s live operations coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations): 

Monday, March 17 

10:45 p.m. – Hatch closing coverage begins on NASA+ 

Tuesday, March 18 

12:45 a.m. – Undocking coverage begins on NASA+ 

1:05 a.m. – Undocking 

Following the conclusion of undocking coverage, NASA will switch to audio only. 

Pending weather conditions at the splashdown sites, continuous coverage will resume on March 18 on NASA+ prior to the start of deorbit burn. 

4:45 p.m. – Return coverage begins on NASA+ 

5:11 p.m. – Deorbit burn (time is approximate) 

5:57 p.m. – Splashdown (time is approximate) 

7:30 p.m. – Return-to-Earth media conference on NASA+, with the following participants: 

Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s return signifies the successful conclusion of a mission aboard the ISS that was unexpectedly prolonged. Their homecoming highlights the commitment and resilience of space explorers. Be sure to catch this historic moment live through NASA's extensive coverage.