NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov land in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida on March 18, 2025. Hague, Gorbunov, Williams, and Wilmore returned from a long-duration science expedition aboard the International Space Station.

Figure 1. SpaceX Crew-9.

After spending months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), four astronauts have safely splashed down in the Gulf of America, successfully concluding their mission.Figure 1 shows SpaceX Crew-9.

NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, landed off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, at 5:57 p.m. EDT on March 18.

Hague and Gorbunov had been on the ISS since September 29, 2024, completing a 171-day mission, while Williams and Wilmore spent an extended 286 days in orbit after arriving on June 6.

SpaceX Dragon Freedom Returns Crew-9 to Earth

The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft was seen floating in the Gulf of America following the Crew-9 splashdown. SpaceX recovery teams, including two fast boats, quickly secured the capsule to prepare it for retrieval.

Once initial safety checks are complete, a recovery ship will lift Dragon onto its main deck with the astronauts still inside. After exiting the spacecraft, the crew will undergo medical evaluations before taking a short helicopter flight and boarding a plane to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Source: NASA

Cite this article:

Keerthana S (2025),NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Splashes Down Off Coast of Florida, AnaTechMaz,pp.257