After an unexpected nine-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally preparing to return to Earth alongside Crew-9 members Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Their return aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is scheduled for March 18, pending favorable splashdown conditions off the coast of Florida.
Williams and Wilmore originally arrived at the ISS in June 2024 aboard Boeing’s Starliner CST-100 spacecraft during its first crewed test flight. However, due to technical issues, NASA opted to send the Starliner back to Earth without them in September 2024, leaving the astronauts stranded in orbit far longer than planned. The mission, which was initially set to last just over a week, has now stretched to nearly 10 months.
The astronauts’ long wait for a return trip home was further extended due to delays in the Crew-10 mission. NASA and SpaceX had initially planned to send up a new Crew Dragon capsule, but after setbacks, they ultimately launched the Crew-10 astronauts aboard a previously flown Dragon named Endurance on Friday. With Crew-10 now aboard the ISS, Crew-9 and the Starliner astronauts can finally return.
Hague and Gorbunov, who launched aboard a SpaceX Dragon in September 2024, were part of the Crew-9 mission, which conducted scientific experiments, research demonstrations, and spacewalks for station maintenance. Their departure, along with Williams and Wilmore, marks the completion of yet another chapter in NASA’s ongoing ISS missions.
Last month, NASA issued a new directive instructing employees, contractors, and grantees to remove pronouns from all work-related communications, including email signatures. The policy was announced through an internal memo obtained by NPR, stating that the change aligns with updated federal guidelines.
In the email, NASA states: “In response to the Executive Orders, NASA has disabled features in id.nasa.gov and Teams that allows users to add pronouns in their display name in Microsoft Outlook and Teams. For users who have previously added pronouns to their display name, those pronouns will be automatically removed from the system this week.”
