TALLAHASSEE, Mar 19: Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have returned home after their eight-day mission to the International Space Station turned into a nine-month-long stay. They flew on a Boeing Starliner to space on June 5 last year and returned in SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft this morning.

The space capsule deployed its parachute before a splashdown in the ocean off the coast of Florida. The two astronauts travelled along with NASA's Nick Hague, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov for 17 hours on their journey home.

A NASA team opened the hatch and helped astronauts onto mobility aids.

Ms Williams was seen waving and flashing thumbs-up signs as she came out of the capsule.

The spacecraft initiated a deorbit burn - A manoeuvre in which the spacecraft fires its engines and turns around in the direction it is travelling, helping it slow down - at 2:41 am, before a splash down 44 minutes later at 3:27 am.

Crew-9 undocked at 10:35 am (IST), with NASA sharing a video of the spacecraft detaching from the space station. Elon Musk's SpaceX was tasked with the responsibility to bring Crew-9 back to Earth. The Dragon capsule atop the Falcon 9 rocket was launched for the mission. Crew-10 has replaced Crew-9 at the International Space Station.

US President Donald Trump has accused the previous Biden administration of abandoning them. The White House responded to the mission's success and said President Trump made a "promise and kept it."

Ms Williams and Mr Wilmore, both former Navy pilots, had flown to the orbital lab on June 5 last year on what was supposed to be an eight-day mission and the first crewed flight of a Boeing Starliner. They were left stranded after the Starliner capsule suffered propulsion issues. Deemed unfit to fly, it returned uncrewed in September.

Amid uncertainty over their return journey, NASA reassigned them to SpaceX's Crew-9 mission, and a Dragon spacecraft was sent in September with a two-member crew, instead of the usual four, to make space for the stranded astronauts.

After a series of delays, a Dragon spacecraft carrying a relief team docked at the space station on Sunday.

Bone and muscle deterioration, radiation exposure, and vision impairment are some of the challenges space travellers have to face upon their return to Earth after a prolonged stay.

The lack of gravity causes significant and often irreparable, bone density loss. As per NASA, for every month in space, astronauts' weight-bearing bones become roughly one per cent less dense if they don't take precautions to counter this loss.

Muscles, usually activated by simply moving around on Earth, also weaken because they no longer need to work as hard.

One of the most dangerous impacts of spending time in space is radiation exposure. While Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field shield humans from high levels of radiation, such protection is not available for astronauts.

Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore Head Back To Earth After 9 Months On ISS

NEW YORK, Mar 18: Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are now closer home. They departed this morning from the International Space Station on the Dragon spacecraft after being "stranded" for nine months on the orbital hub. NASA said Crew-9 undocked at 10:35 am (IST), sharing a video of the spacecraft detaching from the space station. It is expected to complete its return journey in another 17 hours.

Elon Musk's SpaceX launched the Dragon spacecraft atop its Falcon 9 rocket on Saturday to bring back the two astronauts after President Donald Trump accused the previous Biden administration of abandoning them.

Ms Williams and Wilmore, both former Navy pilots, had flown to the orbital lab on June 5 last year on what was supposed to be an eight-day mission and the first crewed flight of a Boeing Starliner. They were left stranded after the Starliner capsule suffered propulsion issues. Deemed unfit to fly, it returned uncrewed in September.

After a series of delays, a Dragon spacecraft carrying a relief team docked at the space station on Sunday. The undocking is complete, and the spacecraft has begun its journey home carrying four astronauts: Ms Williams, Ms Wilmore, NASA's Nick Hague, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

Before the capsule closed its hatch with the four astronauts inside on Tuesday, Hague shared a message for those staying back: "Colleagues and dear friends who remain on the station... we'll be waiting for you. Crew-9 is going home."

Reports suggest the astronauts have been allowed to change into comfortable clothes from their space suits.

Ms Williams' and Mr Wilmore's nine-month space stay for a single mission ranks sixth in the US: Frank Rubio, a flight surgeon-turned-astronaut who had spent 371 days in space in 2023 tops the list. Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov holds the world record; he spent 437 days on board the Mir Station, a former space station of Russia.

Experts suggest long space stays could impact health, posing challenges like muscle and bone loss and fluid shifts. The extended stay also drew global attention and public sympathy with a psychologist praising the astronauts' "unbelievable resilience".

Sunita Williams' Returns Home On Tuesday

WASHINGTON, Mar 17: A pair of US astronauts stuck for more than nine months on the International Space Station will be returned to Earth on Tuesday evening, NASA said.

Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams are to be transported home with another American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft, which arrived at the ISS early Sunday.

The stranded duo have been on the ISS since June after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they were testing on its maiden crewed voyage suffered propulsion issues and was deemed unfit to fly them back to Earth.

NASA said in a statement on Sunday evening that it had moved forward the astronauts' anticipated ocean splashdown off the Florida coast to approximately 5:57 pm Tuesday EDT (3:27 am IST, Wednesday). It was initially slated for no sooner than Wednesday.

"The updated return target continues to allow the space station crew members time to complete handover duties while providing operational flexibility ahead of less favorable weather conditions expected for later in the week," the space agency said.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will also return on the Dragon capsule, with the journey to be broadcast live from Monday evening when hatch closure preparations begin.

For Wilmore and Williams, it will mark the end of an ordeal that has seen them stuck for nine months after what was meant to have been a days-long roundtrip.

Their prolonged stay was significantly longer than the standard ISS rotation for astronauts of roughly six months.

But it is much shorter than the US space record of 371 days set by NASA astronaut Frank Rubio aboard the ISS in 2023, or the world record held by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov, who spent 437 continuous days aboard the Mir space station.

Still, the unexpected nature of their prolonged stay away from their families -- they had to receive additional clothing and personal care items because they hadn't packed enough -- has garnered interest and sympathy.

Airtel Ties Up With Elon Musk's SpaceX To Bring Starlink Internet In India

NEW DELHI, Mar 10: Airtel announced an agreement with Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring Starlink's high-speed internet services to its customers in India.

This is the first agreement to be signed in India, which is subject to SpaceX receiving its own authorisations to sell Starlink in India, Airtel said in a statement.

Airtel and SpaceX will explore offering Starlink equipment in Airtel's retail stores, Starlink services via Airtel to business customers, opportunities to connect communities, schools, and health centers, among many others, in even the most rural parts of India, the Indian telecom said in the statement.

"Working with SpaceX to offer Starlink to Airtel customers in India is a significant milestone and further demonstrates our commitment to next-generation satellite connectivity," said Gopal Vittal, Managing Director and Vice Chairman, Bharti Airtel Ltd.

The SpaceX-owned Starlink is a satellite internet constellation that seeks to offer global mobile broadband. Streaming, video calls, online gaming, remote working and more are possible in even the most remote locations with the help of the world's most advanced internet system.

"This collaboration enhances our ability to bring world-class high-speed broadband to even the most remote parts of India, ensuring that every individual, business, and community has reliable internet. Starlink will complement and enhance Airtel's suite of products to ensure reliable and affordable broadband for our Indian customers-wherever they live and work," Vittal said in the statement.

Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer of SpaceX, said the team at Airtel played a pivotal role in India's telecom story, so SpaceX working with them to complement its direct offering makes great sense for the business.

"We are excited to work with Airtel and unlock the transformative impact Starlink can bring to the people of India. We are constantly amazed by the incredible and inspiring things that people, businesses and organizations do when they are connected via Starlink," Gwynne Shotwell said.

Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio currently dominates India's broadband market with more than 14 million wired subscribers. Jio also has a user base of nearly 500 million mobile internet users. Airtel too has close to 300 million broadband subscribers. However, they are concerned that after spending more than 20 billion dollars in spectrum auctions, they now have the risk of losing customers to Elon Musk's Starlink as satellite technology advances.

SpaceX's latest Starship test flight ends with another explosion

Nearly two months after an explosion sent flaming debris raining down on the Turks and Caicos, SpaceX launched another mammoth Starship rocket on Thursday, but it lost contact minutes into the test flight as the spacecraft came tumbling down and broke apart.

This time, wreckage from the latest explosion was seen streaming from the skies over Florida. It was not immediately known whether the spacecraft's self-destruct system had kicked in to blow it up.

The 123-metre rocket blasted off from Texas. SpaceX caught the first-stage booster back at the pad with giant mechanical arms, but engines on the spacecraft on top started shutting down as it streaked eastward for what was supposed to be a controlled entry over the Indian Ocean, half a world away. Contact was lost less than 10 minutes into the flight as the spacecraft went into an out-of-control spin.

Starship reached nearly 150 kilometres in altitude before trouble struck and before four mock satellites could be deployed. It was not immediately clear where it came down, but images of flaming debris were captured from Florida, including near Cape Canaveral, and posted online.

The space-skimming flight was supposed to last an hour. The Federal Aviation Administration said it would require SpaceX to investigate the accident.

"Unfortunately this happened last time too, so we have some practice at this now," SpaceX flight commentator Dan Huot said from the launch site.

SpaceX later confirmed that the spacecraft experienced "a rapid unscheduled disassembly" during the ascent engine firing and said it alerted safety officials.

Flights were briefly grounded at Orlando International Airport "due to space launch debris in the area," the airport posted on X.

US Spaceship Lands On Moon, Second Private Lander To Achieve Milestone

AUSTIN, Mar 2: A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on Sunday after a long journey through space, marking only the second private mission to achieve the milestone -- and the first to do so upright.

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down shortly after 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side.

"Y'all stuck the landing, we're on the Moon," an engineer at mission control in Austin, Texas, called out as the team erupted in cheers.

A first image is expected soon. CEO Jason Kim later confirmed that the spacecraft was "stable and upright" -- in contrast to the first private landing last February, which came down sideways.

"We're on the Moon!" Nicky Fox, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, rejoiced.

Nicknamed "Ghost Riders in the Sky," the mission is part of a NASA-industry partnership aimed at reducing costs and supporting Artemis, the program designed to return astronauts to the Moon.

The golden lander, about the size of a hippopotamus, launched on January 15 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, capturing stunning footage of Earth and the Moon along the way. It shared a ride with a Japanese company's lander set to attempt a landing in May.

Blue Ghost carries 10 instruments, including a lunar soil analyzer, a radiation-tolerant computer and an experiment testing the feasibility of using the existing global satellite navigation system to navigate the Moon.

Designed to operate for a full lunar day (14 Earth days), Blue Ghost is expected to capture high-definition imagery of a total eclipse on March 14, when Earth blocks the Sun from the Moon's horizon.

On March 16, it will record a lunar sunset, offering insights into how dust levitates above the surface under solar influence -- creating the mysterious lunar horizon glow first documented by Apollo astronaut Eugene Cernan.

Blue Ghost's arrival will be followed on March 6 by fellow Texas company Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission, featuring its lander Athena.

In February 2024, Intuitive Machines became the first private company to achieve a soft lunar landing -- also the first US landing since the crewed Apollo 17 mission of 1972.

However, the success was tempered by a mishap: the lander came down too fast and tipped over on impact, leaving it unable to generate enough solar power and cutting the mission short.

This time, the company says it has made key improvements to the hexagonal-shaped lander, which has a taller, slimmer profile than Blue Ghost, and is around the height of an adult giraffe.

Athena launched on Wednesday aboard a SpaceX rocket, taking a more direct route toward Mons Mouton -- the southernmost lunar landing site ever attempted.

Its payloads include three rovers, a drill to search for ice and the star of the show: a first-of-its-kind hopping drone designed to explore the Moon's rugged terrain.

Landing on the Moon presents unique challenges due to the absence of an atmosphere, making parachutes ineffective.

Instead, spacecraft must rely on precisely controlled thruster burns to slow their descent.

Until Intuitive Machines' first successful mission, only five national space agencies had accomplished this feat: the Soviet Union, the United States, China, India and Japan, in that order.

Now, the United States is working to make private lunar missions routine through NASA's $2.6 billion Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

The missions come at a delicate moment for NASA, amid speculation that it may scale back or even cancel its Artemis lunar program in favor of prioritizing Mars exploration -- a key goal of both President Donald Trump and his close advisor, SpaceX founder Elon Musk.