In a precisely timed splashdown, the four astronauts of the Crew-9 mission safely returned to Earth on Tuesday evening, marking the end of an extraordinary chapter in their spaceflight journey. The crew’s Dragon Freedom spacecraft descended into the Gulf of Mexico near Tallahassee, Florida, at 5:57 p.m. EDT (2157 UTC), concluding a roughly 17-hour journey home from the International Space Station (ISS).
Support teams work around a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft shortly after it landed with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber
The Crew-9 astronauts began their voyage back to Earth early Tuesday morning. At 1:05 a.m. EDT (1705 UTC), Dragon Freedom undocked from the ISS, initiating its final leg toward home. The spacecraft, supported by a quartet of parachutes, made a smooth and punctual splashdown, where recovery teams were waiting to assist the returning astronauts.
"On behalf of Crew-9, I’d like to say it was a privilege to call the station home, to live and work and be a part of a mission and a team that spans the globe, working together in cooperation for the benefit of humanity,” said NASA astronaut and Crew-9 commander Nick Hague during the crew’s departure. “To our colleagues and dear friends who remain on the station … we know the station’s in great hands. We’re excited to see what you guys are going to accomplish.”
The Crew-9 team was composed of an unusual blend of astronauts from two separate missions that were ultimately merged into one. NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov launched aboard Dragon Freedom in September 2024. They spent 171 days in orbit conducting scientific research, performing maintenance tasks, and collaborating with international partners. Joining them for the return trip were NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who had an even longer stint in space. The duo spent 286 days aboard the ISS, having originally arrived in June 2024 aboard the Boeing CST-100 Starliner as part of the Crew Flight Test mission. However, due to unresolved issues with Starliner’s propulsion system, NASA determined it would be safest to return the vehicle to Earth without a crew. As a result, Williams and Wilmore were integrated into Expedition 72 and eventually folded into the Crew-9 return mission.
Following the release of 12 hooks keeping it attached to the zenith port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module, the Dragon Freedom spacecraft drifts away from the ISS to begin its journey back to Earth Credit: NASA via livestream
The merging of these two missions was part of a series of complex logistical decisions. When Dragon Freedom launched in September, it did so with two fewer crew members to ensure available seats for Williams and Wilmore. As a contingency, NASA created makeshift seats inside Dragon Endeavour—the spacecraft that had transported Crew-8—in case of an emergency evacuation. While Starliner remained docked at the ISS, NASA and Boeing confirmed it could still be used as a backup return vehicle in an emergency scenario.
Crew-9’s departure followed a brief two-day handover with Crew-10, which arrived at the ISS on Saturday, March 15. The abbreviated exchange—shortened from the usual five-day overlap—was planned to take advantage of favorable weather conditions in the Gulf of Mexico. It also helped preserve the station's limited consumables, which were impacted by delays in resupply missions.
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, originally scheduled to launch with supplies for the ISS, faced transport issues en route to Kennedy Space Center, forcing NASA to rearrange its scheduling and manifest plans. Additionally, Crew-10's launch had already been postponed multiple times due to delays with their designated spacecraft, Dragon C213, which was ultimately deemed not flight-ready. To avoid further mission delays, NASA and SpaceX opted to use Dragon Endurance—initially assigned to Axiom Space’s private Ax-4 mission—to carry Crew-10.
With Crew-9’s successful return, SpaceX is now preparing for its next mission—a commercial flight carrying four private astronauts. The free-flying polar orbit mission, dubbed Fram2, is scheduled to launch in late March or early April, continuing SpaceX’s growing presence in both government and private spaceflight.
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