The hatch is open
The Dragon spacecraft’s side hatch is now open, giving the astronauts their first breaths of fresh air since they launched into space many months ago.
Hague, Wilmore, Williams and Gorbunov will each be helped out of the Dragon capsule, then taken for medical exams. It is normal procedure for astronauts returning from long-duration missions to be assisted that way, because readjusting to Earth's gravity environment can be rough on their bodies.
Out of the water and onto the ship
The Dragon spacecraft is out of the ocean and has settled into the “nest” on the deck of SpaceX’s recovery vessel.
Teams are now checking the exterior of the spacecraft before they open the hatch.
Dolphins greeted the newly returned SpaceX capsule
Some curious dolphins were among the first to welcome the Crew-9 astronauts back home, swimming playfully around the bobbing spacecraft in the ocean.
What happens next
With SpaceX's recovery vessel at the splashdown site, the Dragon capsule will get hoisted onto the deck of the boat.
Before the hatch is opened, crews will do a final inspection of the spacecraft to make sure no hazardous materials are present. After that, the astronauts will be assisted out of the capsule one by one. The process is expected to take up to an hour, according to SpaceX.
Medical checks will be performed before the astronauts board a helicopter to the airport. A NASA plane will fly the four crew members to the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where they will begin postflight operations.
Recovery teams en route to the SpaceX capsule
Recovery teams are now making their way to the Dragon capsule. The main recovery vessel was positioned about 3 nautical miles away from the landing zone, which means it will take about 30 minutes for it to reach the astronauts.
In the meantime, high-speed boats were deployed to conduct initial safety checks of the space capsule before the recovery vessel arrives.
Live footage showed the charred Dragon spacecraft bobbing in the waters off the coast of Tallahassee.
Splashdown!
The Crew-9 astronauts are home at last.
The Dragon capsule splashed down at 5:57 p.m. ET, landing off Tallahassee under beautiful blue skies.
“Nick, Aleks, Butch and Suni, on behalf of SpaceX, welcome home,” mission controllers radioed to the astronauts.
Parachutes deployed
The Dragon capsule's drogue parachutes deployed at about 5:54 p.m. ET. The parachutes will help slow the capsule as it prepares to splash down. The spacecraft's four much larger main parachutes deployed roughly a minute later.
High-altitude plane spots the Dragon capsule
The first views of the Dragon capsule have been acquired. One of NASA’s high-altitude WB-57 airplanes captured video of the spacecraft streaming through Earth’s atmosphere, with a plasma trail behind it.
The astronauts are re-entering Earth's atmosphere
The Crew-9 astronauts are re-entering the atmosphere, which means the Dragon capsule is being exposed to extreme temperatures of around 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
During this time, mission controllers typically lose communication with the capsule because plasma builds up on the exterior of the spacecraft. The communications blackout is expected to last from 5:44 p.m. until 5:51 p.m. ET.
A well-used SpaceX spacecraft
The SpaceX capsule in which the Crew-9 astronauts are flying home has made three previous trips to space.
SpaceX’s Dragon vehicles are reusable; this capsule, dubbed Freedom, first launched to the International Space Station in April 2022. It was then used for two private missions to the space station — one in May 2023 and another in January 2024.
The capsule’s most recent launch, on Sept. 28, carried NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, with two seats left empty so NASA astronauts Williams and Wilmore could return with them.