Space-bound astronauts Sunita Williams Butch Wilmore are returning to Earth after 9 months and 13 days.  They are also being accompanied by Nick Hague of Crew-9 and Alexander Gorbunov of Roscosmos aboard the International Space Station.

All four astronauts have boarded the Dragon space craft and at 08.35 am IST, the Dragon space craft's hatch i.e. the door closed.  Undocking has now taken place at 10.35, meaning the Dragon capsule has separated from the International Space Station (ISS).

It will land on the Florida coast on March 19 at 3:27 am.  Find out all about Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore's return to Earth in 8 questions…

1. How long will it take to return to Earth from the space station and what will be the process?

This journey will take about 17 hours.  American space agency NASA will start its coverage today i.e. March 18 at 8:15 AM IST.  NASA has released an approximate timetable for this event.  This may also change due to weather.



Dragon spacecraft will undock at 10.35 am after hatch closing on March 18.

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At 2:41 a.m. on March 19, a deorbit burn will occur, i.e., the engines will be fired.

• After entering the Earth's atmosphere, it will land in Florida ocean at 3:27 am on March 19.