The fourth long-duration astronaut workforce launched by SpaceX to the International Space Station (ISS) safely returned to Earth on Friday, splashing down within the Atlantic Ocean off Florida after practically six months of analysis aboard the orbital outpost.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule dubbed Freedom, carrying three U.S. NASA astronauts and an Italian crewmate from the European Space Agency, parachuted into the ocean on the conclusion of a five-hour autonomous flight house from the ISS.
Splashdown underneath clear skies, at about 4:55 p.m. EDT (2055 GMT), was carried reside by a joint NASA-SpaceX webcast.
Freedom started its keep in orbit on April 27. The crew consisted of NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, 49, fellow Americans Jessica Watkins, 34, and Bob Hines, 47, in addition to Italy’s Samantha Cristoforetti, 45, who was commander of their ISS expedition. Watkins grew to become the primary African-American lady to hitch a long-duration ISS mission.
In lower than an hour, restoration groups had hoisted the heat-scorched Crew Dragon onto a retrieval vessel earlier than opening the capsule’s facet hatch and serving to the 4 astronauts out by one for his or her first breath of contemporary air in additional than 24 weeks.
Still garbed of their helmeted white-and-black spacesuits, their energy and steadiness left shaky from 170 days of weightlessness, the 4 crew have been assisted onto particular gurneys as they waved and gave thumbs-up for cameras.
Among these greeting them on the deck of the ship was the vessel’s namesake, veteran NASA astronaut Megan McArthur.
Each of the returning astronauts was to obtain a routine medical checkup aboard the ship earlier than being flown by helicopter again to Florida.
SCORCHING RE-ENTRY, THEN PARACHUTES
The return from orbit adopted a fiery re-entry plunge by Earth’s environment producing frictional warmth that despatched temperatures exterior the capsule hovering to three,500 levels Fahrenheit (1,930 levels Celsius).
Two units of parachutes billowed open above the capsule within the remaining stage of descent, slowing its fall to about 15 miles per hour (24 kph) earlier than the craft hit the water off Jacksonville, Florida.
During their house station keep, the crew orbited Earth 2,720 instances – about as soon as each 90 minutes – to log some 72 million miles (116 million km) in house, based on NASA.
The workforce was designated “Crew-4,” the fourth full-fledged long-duration group of astronauts launched to ISS by SpaceX because the non-public rocket firm based by Tesla Inc CEO Elton Musk started flying NASA personnel in May 2020.
As for many ISS crews, their main mission was science-based, encompassing scores of experiments and expertise demonstrations.
Highlights included analysis on microgravity-induced modifications in human cells resembling these related to getting old, and documenting results of dietary enhancements in orbit on immune operate, gastrointestinal well being and vitamin indicators.
They additionally participated in research of fireside and gas habits in weightlessness, and cultivation of vegetation in liquid- and air-based development supplies instead of soil.
Their exit got here every week after their substitute workforce, Crew-5, arrived aboard the station – a Russian cosmonaut, a Japanese astronaut and two NASA crewmates, together with the primary Native American lady in orbit.
Crew-5 is remaining on ISS with two different Russians and a 3rd American who shared a Soyuz flight to the ISS in September. One of these cosmonauts, Serge Prokofiev, assumed ISS command from Cristoforetti earlier than Crew-4’s departure.
ISS, spanning the size of a U.S. soccer subject, has been constantly occupied since 2000, operated by a U.S.-Russian-led partnership that features Canada, Japan and 11 European nations.
