![]() ![]() The Crew Dragon then proceeded through a series of maneuvers over the course of the day to bring it closer to Earth ahead of its final night-time descent. Operating autonomously, the spacecraft began its eight-hour return voyage earlier in the day with a 90-minute fly-around of the space station as the crew snapped a series of survey photographs of the orbiting outpost, circling the globe some 250 miles (400 km) above. They were to undergo brief medical checkups then be flown to shore via helicopter. They were followed by Japanese crew mate Akihiko Hoshide, 52, and fellow mission specialist Thomas Pesquet, 43, a French engineer from the European Space Agency.Įach flashed smiles and a V-for-victory sign as they were helped onto waiting gurneys, unable to immediately bear their own weight after months in microgravity. Two NASA astronauts on the flight - pilot Megan McArthur, 50, and mission commander Shane Kimbrough, 54 - were the first two out of the vehicle. Within an hour of splashdown, the capsule was hoisted from the ocean to the deck of a recovery ship, and the four astronauts were seen emerging one by one from Endeavour's hatch. It surpassed the previous 168-day record set by the predecessor SpaceX-NASA mission earlier this year, she said. The return capped 199 full days in orbit, the longest ever for an entire U.S.-launched crew, according to Kathy Lueders, associate NASA chief for space operations. "It's great to be back," one of the astronauts radioed in reply. "Endeavour, on behalf of SpaceX, welcome home to planet Earth," a voice from the SpaceX flight control center in suburban Los Angeles was heard telling the crew as a safe splashdown was confirmed. Applause was heard from the flight control center as the four main parachutes inflated above the capsule, seen drifting down toward the Gulf surface and slowing to about 15 miles per hour (24 kph) before dropping gently into the calm sea. ![]()
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