Space travelers returned from expedition delayed by Boeing and a storm

NASA’s Crew-8 mission members returned to Earth on Friday, wrapping up an almost eight-month journey that included multiple extensions of their stay at the International Space Station (ISS). The SpaceX Dragon capsule, carrying the four-person crew, splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola, Florida, just before 3:30 a.m. ET, following a fiery nighttime re-entry across southern Mexico.

The capsule entered the atmosphere at an orbital speed of 17,500 mph and gradually slowed to a gentle 16 mph under a parachute canopy before landing. Named Endeavour, the spacecraft undocked from the ISS on Wednesday afternoon.

During their mission, the Crew-8 members spent 235 days in space, marking the longest duration for any human SpaceX mission. The spacecraft set a record for human-rated capsules, amassing a total of 701 days in orbit. The crew included three NASA astronauts—commander Matthew Dominick, pilot Michael Barratt, and mission specialist Jeanette Epps—alongside cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin from Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency.

Several hours after landing, NASA reported that all four crew members had been transported to a local medical facility “for additional evaluation.” According to NASA, the crew exited the spacecraft onto a recovery ship for routine post-flight medical assessments: “Out of an abundance of caution, all crew members were flown to the facility together. NASA will provide more information as it becomes available.”

The Crew-8 team launched into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on March 3, 2024, spending more than seven months at the ISS. Their scientific research covered various topics, including the movement of bodily fluids during spaceflight and the effects of UV radiation and weightlessness on plant growth.

While aboard the ISS, Crew-8 contributed to a record number of people in orbit. In September, when the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft delivered a NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts to the station, a total of 19 individuals were in orbit, including astronauts on China’s Tiangong space station.

Initially slated to conclude in August, the Crew-8 mission was extended several times due to complications encountered during the test flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule. The Starliner, which transported two NASA astronauts, faced thruster issues as it neared the ISS in June. NASA deemed it too risky for the crew to return to Earth on the Starliner, which was sent back empty in September.

The two Crew-9 mission members, who arrived at the ISS in September, are expected to return NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, left behind by the Starliner, when they complete their mission in February 2025. The return of Crew-8 was also delayed due to Hurricane Milton and adverse weather conditions at the splashdown sites in Florida leading up to their return.

NASA reported that three American astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut were taken to a medical facility “out of an abundance of caution” after their return from the nearly eight-month mission on the ISS. The astronauts—Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps—along with cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, were transported to a local medical facility for further evaluation following their splashdown at 3:29 a.m. ET (0729 GMT) off the Florida Gulf Coast in their Crew Dragon spacecraft.

While the crew underwent standard medical evaluations after exiting the craft, NASA stated, “Out of an abundance of caution, all crew members were flown to the facility together” for additional assessments. NASA, typically reserved regarding astronaut medical issues, did not disclose the reasons for the precautionary measures or the condition of the crew.
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