Washington: On Tuesday, two NASA astronauts who had been unexpectedly trapped in space for almost nine months were only hours away from coming back to Earth, capping a journey that has drawn international interest.
Following their final goodbyes and embraces with the remaining crew members, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams departed the ISS earlier this morning, joined by Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov and fellow American Nick Hague.
Around 5:57 p.m. (2157 GMT), their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, Freedom, will make a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida, close to Tallahassee, after a 17-hour orbit around the Earth.
The quartet will subsequently be picked up by a recovery vessel and transported to Houston, where they will undergo a 45-day rehabilitation program.
