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By Tom Howarth
Science Reporter (Nature)
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After more than two weeks of delays due to Hurricane Milton, SpaceX's Crew-8 has splashed down off the coast of Florida in the early hours of Friday morning.
The Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday at 5:05 p.m. ET while zipping 260 miles above the Pacific Ocean.
The journey back down to Earth took more than a day, with the Dragon capsule successfully landing off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 3:29 a.m. ET on Friday.
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"Splashdown. Welcome home, #Crew8! After a science mission of over seven months living and working on the Space Station, the crew of four are back on Earth," NASA said in a post on X.
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Who Are the Members of SpaceX Crew-8?
Onboard Endeavour are NASA astronauts Matt Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. The crew launched on a SpaceX Flacon 9 rocket back in March, arriving at the ISS on March 5, 2024.
They were originally set to come home in August, but were delayed several times. Boeing's troubled Starliner—which left two astronauts stuck on the space station—created a backlog until its faults were investigated by NASA.
Crew-8's return was then rescheduled for October 14, but conditions off the coast of Florida were unfavorable in the wake of Hurricane Milton. NASA's Kennedy Space Center closed entirely on October 9 due to the storm, with only essential personnel allowed on site.
Even on Wednesday, the weather remained a concern. "Forecasters have seen improvement in expected weather at some of the landing sites off the coast of Florida and continue to monitor conditions while considering splashdown sites and exact timing," NASA said in a statement on Tuesday.
The journey back to Earth took more than 34 hours. Endeavour first had to perform a series of departure burns to move away from the space station, after which it began conducting multiple orbit-lowering maneuvers. The spacecraft then jettisoned its trunk and reentered the Earth's atmosphere.
Four minutes before splashdown, the drogue parachutes deployed at an altitude of around 18,000 feet, slowing the Dragon spacecraft as it descended at roughly 350 miles per hour.
Less than a minute later, the main parachutes deployed at an altitude of about 6,000 feet, further reducing the spacecraft's speed to approximately 119 miles per hour as it neared the ocean surface.
What Happened to SpaceX Crew-8 After Splashdown?
Teams aboard the SpaceX recovery ship, including two fast boats, secured Dragon and ensured the spacecraft was safe for retrieval. After the fast boat teams completed their tasks, the recovery ship moved into position to lift Dragon onto the main deck with the Crew-8 members still inside.
Once safely on deck, about an hour after splashdown, the crew was carefully extracted from the spacecraft and taken for medical evaluations.
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Update 10/25/24 4:24 a.m. ET: The article was updated with new information following the successful splashdown.
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