Four astronauts successfully returned to Earth after completing a six-month mission on the International Space Station. The crew, part of NASA and SpaceX’s joint mission known as Crew-6, left the space station on Sunday morning and landed on the Florida coast aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule on Monday. The astronauts endured a fast and fiery descent, with the capsule reaching speeds of over 17,000 miles per hour and temperatures outside the craft reaching 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the crew remained comfortable inside the cabin, protected by a heat shield.
To slow its descent, the Crew Dragon capsule deployed several parachutes, enabling rescue teams to retrieve the spacecraft from the ocean. Teams then conducted final safety checks before the crew could disembark. Throughout their mission, NASA closely monitored the impact of Hurricane Idalia, which had made landfall in Florida earlier in the week.
The Crew-6 comprised of NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Sultan Alneyadi from the United Arab Emirates, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Their time aboard the space station was dedicated to overseeing more than 200 scientific and technological projects. Additionally, the crew hosted the Axiom Mission 2, which included a former NASA astronaut and three paying clients, as part of NASA’s efforts to increase commercial activity in low-Earth orbit.
Crew-6 also passed the baton to Crew-7, who arrived at the space station on August 27. Hoburg expressed his satisfaction with the mission during a press conference, describing it as a “great adventure and a lot of fun.” Overall, the successful return of the astronauts marks another milestone for NASA and SpaceX in their joint efforts to advance space exploration and commercial space travel.