By Julia Beauregard
Hometown Weekly Editor
After being stuck in space for the last nine months, NASA astronaut and Needham native Sunita Williams safely returned back to earth on Tuesday, March 18. Williams mission was originally only supposed to take eight to ten days.
Williams set off for space on June 5, 2024 heading to the International Space Station, using Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule. However, technical complications, such as helium leaks, during the space station approach, led to multiple delays, which pushed the return date to June 18, then to June 26. NASA then suggested that the Starliner return empty and the astronauts return on a different spacecraft, leaving Williams behind at the space station. It was confirmed on August 24, 2024 that the Starliner would return to Earth in 2025 without a crew. Though, the Starliner landed in New Mexico on September 7, 2024.
In September 2024, Williams joined the space stations full-time crew due to the technical issues with the Starliner and it was decided that she would return to earth aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, which launched that same month with the intention of returning with Williams aboard in February of this year.
However, NASA stated in December 2024 that William’s replacement at the space station would be traveling aboard the SpaceX Crew-10, which wouldn’t be launching until this month.
As of January 2025, Williams had completed nine spacewalks, accumulating a total of 62 hours and 6 minutes. This achievement set a record for the most time spent spacewalking by a woman and placed her fourth overall among the most experienced spacewalkers in history. At the end of January, the astronaut answered questions at the International Space Station from Needham High School Students. She shared with them: “"I've been up here long enough right now I've been trying to remember what it's like to walk. I haven't walked. I haven't sat down. I haven't laid down. You don't have to. You can just close your eyes and float where you are right here.”
Crew-9’s return to Earth from the International Space Station, began with the SpaceX Dragon hatch closure preparations at 10:45pm on Monday, March 17. The hatch closed at 11:05pm that same night, while the craft began undocking at 1:05am on March 18. The journey back to earth began at 12:47am early that same morning, while the crew officially splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Tallahassee, Florida around 6:30pm that evening.
Welcome home to Sunita Williams!
