NASA is set to bring astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth in February 2025 using SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. Originally planned to return via Boeing’s Starliner, the mission shifted to SpaceX after safety concerns were raised about the Starliner.

The SpaceX Crew-9 mission, led by NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will launch in late September 2024 to the International Space Station (ISS). They will remain in quarantine at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center from September 20 to avoid potential health risks before liftoff.

The launch is scheduled for September 25 at 11:58 p.m. IST, with backup dates on September 26, 27, and 28. Hague and Gorbunov will spend about five months on the ISS conducting experiments before returning with Williams and Wilmore.

Williams expressed her excitement about the extended mission and the opportunity to fly in both the Starliner and Dragon spacecraft, emphasizing her love for space.