SpaceX Launches Starlink Satellites and NASA's EZIE Mission; Astronauts Williams and Wilmore Return After Extended ISS Stay

SpaceX launched 21 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral on March 18. The Falcon 9 first stage landed on the 'Just Read the Instructions' droneship in the Atlantic Ocean. NASA's EZIE mission, consisting of three small satellites, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base on March 14. The satellites will map auroral electrojets, electric currents in the upper atmosphere, to improve understanding of space weather. The EZIE satellites were successfully deployed and will begin their 18-month mission. NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are scheduled to return to Earth on March 19 aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule, concluding their extended stay on the International Space Station (ISS). They will be accompanied by NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The return was timed based on favorable weather conditions. Williams and Wilmore have been on the ISS since June, following issues encountered during the first crewed test flight of Boeing's Starliner capsule.