Astronauts Return to Earth After Mission
On Saturday, four astronauts made their way back to Earth, wrapping up a five-month mission at the International Space Station, during which they assisted with issues surrounding Boeing’s Starliner test pilot.
Their SpaceX capsule touched down in the Pacific Ocean near Southern California, just a day after departing from the Orbital Lab.
“Welcome,” came the greeting from SpaceX Mission Control over the radio.
The astronauts included Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers from NASA, Takamichi Onishi from Japan, and Kirill Peskov from Russia. They had launched back in March to support during a period of difficulty for the Starliner program, stepping in for two NASA astronauts who were part of an earlier unsuccessful test.
The malfunction of the Starliner had kept astronauts Butch Wilmore and Snie Williams on the space station for more than nine months, instead of a planned week. Consequently, NASA decided to have Boeing’s crew capsule return to testing while assigning Wilmore and Williams to SpaceX for their flight home. They departed shortly after McClain’s team arrived to relieve them. Wilmore has since retired from NASA.
Before her departure from the space station on Friday, McClain reflected on the challenges facing people on Earth during these times. “Our mission is to remind everyone what’s possible when we unite and explore together,” she stated.
Looking ahead, McClain expressed a desire for some downtime in Houston, mentioning her craving for a hot shower and a juicy burger.
This splashdown marked the third time SpaceX has returned capsules to the Pacific and was the first for a NASA crew in 50 years. Earlier this year, SpaceX switched its recovery location from Florida to the California coast to minimize risks of debris landing in populated areas. This crew marked the first group to experience the Pacific return.
The last mission where NASA astronauts came back to the Pacific Ocean was the 1975 Apollo Soyuz Mission, which was a historic meeting of American and Soviet astronauts in space.
