Butch and Suni of ‘Astronauts stranded’ to start traveling home

After an epic nine months in space, NASA Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally preparing to return home.

His stay at the International Space Station (ISS) would only last eight days, but his mission extended dramatically after the spacecraft that they suffered technical problems.

The couple travels back to Earth in a Spacex capsule along with NASA astronaut Nas Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

It is expected that DESANINE DE LA ISS at 0505 GMT (0105 EDT) on Tuesday and then splashed the Florida coast later that day with 2157 GMT (1757 EDT).

However, your landing time could change if climatic conditions are not good enough.

It will mark the end of a mission that has caught the attention of the world, however, the final stages of its trip will not be easy.

The Spacex dragon capsule will make a quick and burning re -entry through the atmosphere of the earth, lasting temperatures up to 1600 ° C.

As you slowly slow down, astronauts will experience significant G forces, approximately four times the severity of the earth.

Finally, four great parachutes will open, allowing the ship to land gently in the ocean.

Helen Sharman, Great Britain’s first astronaut, said the exciting trip would be worth it.

“They are experienced astronauts, but they will feel fantastic to be back on earth. Fresh air is the first thing that takes you,” he told BBC News.

The Butch and Suni saga began in June 2024.

They were participating in the first crew flight of the Starliner spacecraft, developed by the Boeing Aerospace Company.

But the capsule suffered several technical problems during his trip to the space station, and was considered too risky to take astronauts home.

Starliner returned safely to the empty land in early September, but meant that the couple needed a new trip for their return.

Then, NASA opted for the next programmed flight: a Spacex capsule that reached the ISS at the end of September.

He flew with two astronauts instead of four, leaving two spare seats for the return of Butch and Suni. The only capture was that this had a planned mission of six months, extending the stay of the astronauts so far.

The arrival of a replacement team on Sunday was the final step necessary for the return of Butch and Suni, and after a brief delivery with the new team, its mission is already coming to an end.

The NASA couple has adopted their longest stay than expected in space.

They have carried out a variety of experiments aboard the laboratory in orbit and made space walks, with Suni breaking the woman’s record that has passed most of the hours outside the space station.

And although astronauts are described as “stranded”, they really never were.

Throughout its mission there have always been spacecraft linked to the space station to get them, and the rest of those on board, at home if there was an emergency.

Speaking in the weeks before his departure, Butch Wilmore said they were not persecuted when their mission extended.

“We arrived prepared to stay a long time, even though we plan to stay short. That is what we do on the human space flight. That is what the human space flight program of its nation is about,” he said.

Suni added that he was sad, this would probably be his last mission.

“I think the fact that we are living here, in this unique place, gives you an incredible perspective,” he said. “I don’t want to lose that spark of inspiration when I leave, so I will have to bottled it in some way.”

The couple’s mission attracted even more advertising last month after the Spacex CEO, Elon Musk, said the astronauts had stayed in space for political reasons, and their company could have brought them home before.

But NASA officials said their decisions were based on flight programming and the needs of the space station.

Garrett Reismman, former NASA astronaut and former Spacex Operations Director at Spacex, said there were good reasons why NASA did not opt ​​for a dedicated rescue mission.

“I was not going to reduce the amount of time that Butch and Suni spent a lot in space, I mean, you shave a couple of free months, so the benefit was not so good,” he told BBC News.

“And the cost was high: these crew missions cost hundreds of millions of dollars … I think Butch and Suni would have been the first to say ‘No, that is not worth it’.”

Once astronauts have arrived home, they will be taken to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where they will be reviewed by medical experts.

The long -term missions in space affect the body, astronauts lose bone density and suffer muscle loss. Blood circulation is also affected, and liquid changes can also affect the view.

The body may take a long time to return to normal, so the couple will receive a wide exercise regime as their bodies adapt to live with gravity. But the first priority for Butch and Suni will be to see their families, friends and pets.

Garrett Reismman has been in contact with her friend Suni while she has been in space.

“I received an email from Suni the other day where he talked about disappearing sitting on the porch in his house in Maine with the dogs and smelling the fresh air, feeling the sun on your face,” he told the BBC.

“They are the basic things of life here on the earth you strange.”