Sunita Williams safely returns to Earth from space, SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule splashes down in the sea
Sunita Williams Safely Returns To Earth from Space: Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams and her teammates Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbunov have safely landed on Earth from the International Space Station. The four members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission safely landed on the coast of Florida at 3:27 pm IST on Wednesday. Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore began their mission to the International Space Station on June 6, 2024, which launched on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbunov also arrived at the space station on September 29, 2024. They traveled to space on board SpaceX’s Dragon Freedom spacecraft, which had been attached to the station since September and returned Crew-9. Following splashdown, the crew retrieved the Dragon and its crew, which took around an hour.
NASA has televised the return of Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams in real time. The world had its eyes fixed on the astronauts’ return. All people prayed for their safe return.
How was the splashdown of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule?
The moment the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule was above the sea, quite a distance from the coast of Florida, the parachutes deployed. First, two parachutes showed up, followed by all four parachutes after a few seconds. Once the parachutes deploy, the capsule decelerates to a point where it descends slowly. Shortly thereafter, the capsule makes a safe splash in the sea.
Once the spacecraft had landed in the ocean, the astronauts were welcomed from the control center with the message, “Nick, Alec, Butch, Suni — welcome home from SpaceX.” Commander Nick Hague replied, “What a great trip.”
The recovery team finally arrived at the capsule in their high-speed boats and strapped a harness to the capsule. The capsule is dragged to the recovery ship using ropes. SpaceX’s recovery ship then approached the vehicle. The capsule was onboard the recovery ship, where it was later cleaned and opened. Megan, the recovery ship, has been named after NASA astronaut Megan McArthur.
The astronaut breathed in the first fresh air with SpaceX Crew Dragon:
The capsule of SpaceX Crew Dragon was opened on the recovery ship, and the astronauts breathed fresh air for the first time after a long absence. Subsequently, the four travelers were removed from the capsule individually. Crew-9 commander Nick Hague was the first to emerge from the capsule. Then Alexander emerged followed by Sunita Williams and then Butch Wilmore emerged. All of them welcomed with a smile on their face and waving their hands. They were wheeled out on the rolling stretcher. It was good weather when they splashed down.
As the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule made its splashdown, dolphins were seen swimming around it. NASA commentators quipped that they were honorary members of the recovery team.
Prayers and Hawans conducted in India for Sunita Williams
Sunita Williams’ relatives who resided in Gujarat prayed for her safe return. Her cousin Dinesh Rawal arranged a ‘yagna’ in Ahmedabad on Tuesday and said, “Everybody in the family is wishing for Sunita’s return. Everybody is delighted that she is returning.” He added, “A large prayer ceremony and bhajans have been initiated by the Mahila Mandal in our village, which will go on till tomorrow morning. May God grant all our wishes.”
Hawan was conducted in Sunita Williams’ hometown village of Jhulasan
Residents in Sunita Williams’ hometown village of Jhulasan conducted havans praying for the safe return of the NASA astronaut. Prayers were also made at the Dola Mata temple in Jhulasan. Temple priest Dinesh Pandya commented, “We are all extremely delighted and we have been praying for her (NASA astronaut Sunita Williams) for the past nine months. When she first went to space, she took a photograph of Dola Mata with her. Whenever she comes to India, she comes to the temple.”
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