SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — After greater than 4 months aboard the Worldwide House Station (ISS), four astronauts safely returned to Earth on Saturday morning with a splashdown off the coast of San Diego, wrapping up NASA and SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission.
In line with SpaceX, the Dragon spacecraft undocked from the ISS at 6 05 p.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 8, and accomplished a collection of exact “orbit-lowering maneuvers” earlier than re-entering Earth’s environment.
The capsule made a profitable splashdown at 11:33 a.m. EDT on Saturday within the Pacific Ocean, roughly 17 hours for the reason that crew’s departure.
4 astronauts safely returned to Earth Saturday morning with a splashdown off the coast of San Diego. (Credit score: SpaceX)
Aboard the spacecraft had been NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Company astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. All 4 crewmembers are reported to be in good well being following restoration operations.
The mission, launched from Kennedy House Middle in Florida on March 14, marked a 145-day keep in orbit. The Dragon capsule autonomously docked with the ISS simply over a day after launch and supported a variety of scientific analysis throughout its time in house.
4 astronauts safely returned to Earth Saturday morning with a splashdown off the coast of San Diego. (Credit score: SpaceX)
Whereas in orbit, Crew-10 contributed to experiments geared toward advancing future human house exploration and enhancing life on Earth, together with research on microgravity’s results on human well being and new applied sciences for long-duration missions, SpaceX officers defined.
This Dragon spacecraft has now accomplished a number of missions, having beforehand flown NASA’s Crew-3, Crew-5, and Crew-7 missions. The Falcon 9 rocket used on this mission additionally marked its second flight, beforehand launching the SES 03b mPOWER satellite tv for pc.
NASA and SpaceX streamed the re-entry and splashdown live via webcast and on the brand new X TV app, giving house fans a front-row seat to the thrilling conclusion of the mission.
The protected return off California’s southern coast marks one other milestone within the ongoing partnership between NASA and SpaceX as they proceed to advance crewed spaceflight capabilities.