Washington: Sunita Williams is likely to return to Earth around 3.27 am (IST) on Wednesday. NASA has confirmed that the capsule, carrying her and astronauts Butch Wilmore and Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, will splash down in the ocean, somewhere close to Florida.
The return was scheduled for later this week, but was moved up to ensure favourable weather conditions during the landing.
Sunita and Wilmore had travelled to the International Space Station (ISS) – orbiting Earth at an altitude of over 400 km – in 2024 on a 10-day mission. However, they remained stranded there for nearly 10 months as their Boeing Starliner capsule developed propulsion malfunctions.
“The updated return target continues to allow the space station crew members time to complete handover duties while providing operational flexibility ahead of less favourable weather conditions expected for later in the week,” a NASA statement said.
Indians are keeping close watch on the developments for several reasons. For one, her father was an Indian from Mehsana in Gujarat, who migrated to the US, where Sunita was born. Secondly, Sunita has never denied her Indian roots. From carrying a copy of the Bhagavad Gita and an image of Lord Ganesha to space and celebrating Diwali at the ISS, and even having samosas in that near zero-gravity environment, the astronaut has created a special bond with Indians living across the world.
Indians also have fond memories of Indian-origin astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who was killed after her space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry on February 1, 2003. Unlike Sunita, Kalpana was born in India and moved to the US after completing her basic engineering course.
More importantly, India has made huge progress in her space programme, over the last several years, and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is now planning a manned mission. There are also plans for a joint satellite launch with NASA.
