Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who spent nine months in space, safely splashed down off the coast of Florida on March 18, 2025. The Dragon spacecraft, carrying the astronauts, re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of up to 28,800 kmph, generating temperatures of around 1,600 degrees Celsius.
To protect the occupants, SpaceX’s Dragon capsule is equipped with a heat-resistant casing made of Phenolic-Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA). This material, also used by NASA, helped shield the astronauts from the extreme heat during re-entry.
As the spacecraft approached the ocean, six parachutes were deployed to slow down the capsule. The first two drogue parachutes stabilized it after re-entry, followed by four main parachutes that slowed it down further. The target speed for splashdown was 16 miles per hour, which was achieved through a combination of parachute deployment and positioning over the ocean’s surface.
After successfully splashing down, NASA’s Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov were among the first to exit the spacecraft. Sunita Williams, who spent nearly nine months in space, emerged smiling and waving, followed by Butch Wilmore. The astronauts will undergo a thorough check-up upon their return, as prolonged space travel can lead to risks such as bone density loss, muscle deterioration, radiation exposure, and vision impairment.
Despite the challenges of re-entry, Williams and Wilmore safely returned home, marking the successful conclusion of their long-duration space mission.
Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/sunita-williams-butch-wilmore-before-sunita-williams-splashdown-moments-of-terror-in-spacecraft-7958426