Strapped into the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endeavor, three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut returned to Earth early Friday, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico to conclude an extended 235-day expedition to the International Space Station.
After a quick return over Central America and a steep descent into the Gulf, Crew 8 commander Matthew Dominick, co-pilot Michael Barratt, astronaut Jeanette Epps and cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin settled for a soft, purposeful landing south of Pensacola, Florida , at 3:29 a.m. EDT.
NASA TV
A nearby SpaceX team arrived on scene within minutes to stabilize the capsule, ensure no toxic propellant fumes were present, and then tow it aboard a nearby recovery ship where NASA flight surgeons and support staff were ready to to carry the returning station pilots from the crew cabin.
Despite two hours of exercise per day during their time in orbit, returning station astronauts need about a month or more to regain their “land legs” after months in the weightless environment of space.
As such, Dominick, Barratt, Epps and Grebenkin were carried from the Crew Dragon and onto stretchers before being rolled onto the ship for initial medical checks and phone calls to family and friends. All four of them appeared cheerful, smiling and waving as they were rolled inside.
The duration of the mission was 235 days, three hours and 35 minutes, during which the spacecraft orbited the Earth 3,776 times and traveled 100 million miles since then. launch from the Kennedy Space Center on March 3.
NASA
The crew originally expected to return to Earth in September. But the flight was canceled in early October in the wake of a decision to delay the launch of their Crew 9 replacements due to problems with Boeing’s Starliner crew ferry.
NASA ultimately ruled out bringing Starliner commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and co-pilot Sunita Williams back to Earth aboard the Boeing spacecraft. Instead, the Starliner came down without his crew on September 7, Crew 9 launched with just two passengers – Nick Haag and cosmonaut Alexander Gobrunov – on September 28.
That freed up two seats aboard the Crew Dragon for Wilmore and Williams to use when they return home with Haag and Gorbunov next February.
Figuring all that out pushed Crew 8’s departure to October. NASA and SpaceX were then repeatedly held up by high winds and rough seas at the approved landing sites, much of which was related to Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
But this week, conditions in the Gulf finally met NASA safety guidelines and the crew was cleared to undock and head home.
Now that Crew 8 is safely back on Earth, the Crew 9 crew will board their own Crew Dragon capsule early Sunday, November 3, undock from the forward port of the Harmony module and then re-dock into the space-facing harbour.
The next day, a SpaceX freighter bound for the ISS is scheduled to launch from the Kennedy Space Center. After an automated rendezvous, the ship will dock in the newly vacated outer port on November 5, election day in the United States.
