Crew-9 return sparks major interest in Western Washington

Yahoo

19-03-2025

There were plenty of eyes throughout Western Washington as Crew-9 splashdown off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida Tuesday afternoon. Some of those eyes were staring at NASA's streaming of the splash down inside the Museum of Flight in Tukwila.
'I think this is really historic and I am glad that they are able to do this,' said Lucas from Seattle.
Many museum staff also tuned in to the historic splash down, including Space Curator Geoff Nunn.
'I want them to get back safely,' Nunn said before Crew-9′s splashdown.
Nunn has paid close attention to these astronauts' journey since June of 2024. He says that while their mission went longer than expected, the usual length of NASA missions is 6 months to a year.
'Again, they train for this stuff. And so while it was unexpected, they were certainly able to work the problem,' Nunn said.
Nunn says he's seen a recent rise in public interest in aerospace across Western Washington, as well as with large companies like Boeing, whose first Starliner Capsule was used in this journey.
'Now there are all of these new players that are coming on board to help support NASA through programs like the commercial crew program,' Nunn said.
With that said, Nunn says Boeing and these companies will have to work through the kinks of it all to get more space travel up and running.
'There are no doubt going to be challenges. Space is difficult. There are going to be scenarios where things don't go as expected, but it's really important for us to expand our ability to explore farther. So it is very exciting for me to see renewed interest in space and see so many more people getting into the game,' Nunn said.