Two astronauts left at the International Space Station since June have now returned to Earth, as their spacecraft splashed down near Florida at 8:57 am AEDT.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore’s SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule left the International Space Station (ISS) yesterday. Williams and Wilmore were originally slated to stay at the ISS for just 10 days, but their spacecraft was brought back to Earth empty after a fault in its propulsion system.
The splashdown “was nothing short of spectacular,” said NASA spokesperson Jaden Jennings, aboard the SpaceX recovery vessel set to retrieve the Dragon Capsule.
“I think I speak for all of us on the ship when I say a new core memory was made for us today.”
The Dragon capsule entered the Earth’s atmosphere at 8:49 am AEDT. The spacecraft was lifted into the recovery vessel 28 minutes after splashdown, at 9:25 am AEDT, with the crew expected to exit the capsule around 10 am AEDT.
Williams and Wilmore returned to Earth with the ISS’ Crew-9, composed of fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Hague and Gorbunov arrived at the ISS in September, with their spacecraft including two additional seats for Williams and Wilmore.
Crew-9 was cleared to return to Earth with the arrival of the ISS’ Crew-10 group on Sunday. While the launch was initially scheduled for Wednesday, the capsule departed early due to preferable weather conditions on Tuesday.
The crew will undergo a series of medical checks following their return to Earth, beginning aboard the recovery vessel.
Williams and Wilmore spent 285 days aboard the ISS during this mission, including orbiting the Earth 4,576 times.
Williams now boasts the second-most cumulative number of days in space among NASA astronauts, at 608 days in total. The record-holder, Peggy Whitson, notched 675 days in space across her career before retiring in 2018.
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