Four astronauts concluded their six-month mission aboard the International Space Station on Sunday and are set to make a splashdown off the coast of Florida. The Crew-6 mission, a joint effort by NASA and SpaceX, saw the astronauts board their Crew Dragon capsule and depart the space station at 7:05 am ET. They are expected to spend a day aboard the capsule as it maneuvers through Earth’s orbit before landing at 12:17 am ET.
Hurricane Idalia, which devastated parts of Florida, was closely monitored by NASA. The storm made landfall on the Gulf of Mexico coast in Florida before moving through southern Georgia and the Carolinas.
The four astronauts making the splashdown are NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Sultan Alneyadi, the second United Arab Emirates astronaut in space, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. They have spent the past six months onboard the space station and recently handed over operations to the Crew-7 team that arrived on Sunday.
During their time in space, the Crew-6 astronauts were responsible for overseeing over 200 science and technology projects. They also hosted the Axiom Mission 2 crew, which included a former NASA astronaut and three paying customers, as part of NASA’s efforts to increase commercial activity in low-Earth orbit.
The group also acknowledged their colleague Frank Rubio, who has spent nearly 350 days aboard the space station. Rubio is set to break the record for the longest stay in microgravity by an American astronaut. Initially scheduled for a spring return trip, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft that was supposed to transport Rubio and two Russian colleagues experienced a coolant leak. Due to safety concerns, a replacement vehicle was sent, and the ongoing mission was extended by six months.
The Crew-6 astronauts reflected on their time in space, describing it as a great adventure and a lot of fun. They commended Rubio’s leadership aboard the space station during his extended stay.
The Crew Dragon capsule is on track to make a safe landing, concluding another successful mission in space exploration.