Sunita Williams’ Return To Earth Confirmed: When And Where To Watch The Splashdown

According to NASA, “Two U.S. astronauts who have been stranded on the International Space Station for over nine months are set to return to Earth on Tuesday evening.

Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will travel back alongside another American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, which docked at the ISS early Sunday.

The pair had been on the ISS since June after the Boeing Starliner, the spacecraft they were testing on its first crewed mission, encountered propulsion problems and was deemed unsafe for their return.

Stranded NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams And Butch Wilmore To Return 

NASA astronauts Sunita Williamsand Butch Wilmore are finally preparing to return to Earth after spending over nine months aboard the ISS. Their prolonged stay resulted from propulsion issues with the Boeing Starliner, which was initially scheduled to bring them back just eight days after their launch last June. Joining Williams and Wilmore on the return journey are NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

To facilitate their return, NASA and SpaceX launched a crewed mission to the ISS. The Dragon spacecraft, carried by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:03 pm ET on Friday (4:33 am IST, Saturday) and successfully docked with the ISS around 10 am.

SpaceX Dragon docks with Space Station
pic.twitter.com/nQMLO1U9gP

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 16, 2025

NASA announced on Sunday evening that the astronauts’ anticipated ocean splashdown off the Florida coast had been rescheduled to approximately 5:57 pm EDT on Tuesday (3:27 am IST, Wednesday), earlier than the initially planned Wednesday return.

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Sunita Williams’ Return To Earth: Where And How To Watch

The astronauts will travel back to Earth aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, with their splashdown scheduled for 5:57 PM EDT on Tuesday in Florida (3:27 AM IST on Wednesday).

NASA had originally planned their return for Wednesday but decided to move it up due to unfavourable weather conditions expected later in the week.

For space enthusiasts, NASA will broadcast live coverage of the event, starting at 10:45 pm EDT on Monday (8:15 AM IST on Tuesday), beginning with hatch closure preparations.

Will NASA Pay Sunita Williams Overtime Salary For Her Extended Stay In Space?

The compensation for the astronauts' extended stay in space has sparked curiosity. Will NASA pay them overtime?

All the hugs. 🫶

The hatch of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft opened March 16 at 1:35 a.m. ET and the members of Crew-10 entered the @Space_Station with the rest of their excited Expedition 72 crew. pic.twitter.com/mnUddqPqfr

— NASA's Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) March 16, 2025

Sunita Williams holds a GS-15 pay grade, the highest level for federal employees under the General Schedule (GS) system. However, NASA does not offer special overtime pay for astronauts.

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According to former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, as cited by Washingtonian magazine, Williams and Butch Wilmore are unlikely to receive any additional payment for their prolonged mission aboard the ISS.

The only additional compensation that Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore might receive for their extended stay in space is a small daily stipend meant for incidentals—reportedly just $4 (₹347) per day, according to former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman.

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Credits: NASA Twitter/SpaceX Twitter