Nasa astronauts given exact date for International Space Station return as SpaceX capsule retrieves pair after being stranded for nine months

Two Nasa astronauts who have been left stranded in space for nine months will finally return to Earth later this week.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are scheduled to begin their journey home early Tuesday morning.

Wilmore and Williams will travel aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, concluding what was initially planned as an eight-day mission.

The astronauts will undock from the International Space Station at 5.05am GMT on Tuesday, with their return journey set to take approximately 17 hours.

They are scheduled to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico–America at 5.57pm local time on Tuesday. The exact landing location will depend on local weather conditions.

Wilmore and Williams were the first crew to fly Boeing’s Starliner in a test mission last June. Problems with the spacecraft’s propulsion system led NASA to deem it too risky for their return.

The failed test was another setback for Boeing’s space unit, which has struggled for years to compete with SpaceX.

Starliner ultimately returned to Earth empty in September.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• SpaceX crew arrive at ISS to rescue stranded Nasa astronauts
• Alien life could be hiding in gases on faraway planets – breakthrough revelation
• Extinction asteroid’s impact on Earth laid bare as new map outlines ‘mega ripples’ on seafloor
  

Nasa opted to fold the stranded astronauts into the agency’s Crew-9 mission instead. The SpaceX Crew Dragon will serve as their ride home, part of a contingency plan devised by Nasa last year.

This situation has attracted political attention, with US President Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reportedly blaming former President Joe Biden without evidence.

Nasa astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will join Wilmore and Williams on Tuesday’s return trip. The pair flew to the ISS in September on a Crew Dragon craft with two empty seats.

Nasa had initially planned their return for Wednesday night, however the schedule was moved forward due to unfavourable weather forecasts later in the week.

The astronauts have been conducting scientific research aboard the station, performing routine maintenance alongside the station’s other five astronauts.

After splashdown, they will be flown to Nasa’s Johnson Space Center for a few days of standard post-mission medical checks.