Credit: NASA TELEVISION
NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet splashed down safely in the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 10:33 p.m. EST after 199 days in space.
The return climaxes for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crewed spacecraft and finishes completion of the second crew rotation objective to the International Space Station of the Crew Dragon spacecraft developed in collaboration between NASA and SpaceX as a part of the firms Commercial Crew Program.
Groups on the Go Navigator healing ship, consisting of 2 fast boats, now are in the procedure of protecting Crew Dragon and ensuring the spacecraft is safe for the recovery effort. As the fast boat groups finish their work, the healing ship will move into position to raise Crew Dragon onto the primary deck of Go Navigator with the astronauts inside. As soon as on the primary deck, the crew will be taken out of the spacecraft and get medical checks before a helicopter flight to Pensacola to board an airplane for Houston.
NASAs SpaceX Crew-2 objective launched April 23 on a Falcon 9 rocket from the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida and docked to the Harmony modules forward port of the spaceport station April 24, nearly a day after liftoff.
Throughout its mission, the Crew-2 astronauts contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities, scientific investigations, and technology demonstrations, in addition to four spacewalks, and numerous public engagement occasions while aboard the orbiting laboratory. They studied how gaseous flames behave in microgravity, grew hatch green chiles in the stations Plant Habitat Facility, installed free-flying robotic assistants and even wore virtual reality goggles to check brand-new methods of working out in area, amongst many other clinical activities. The astronauts contributed numerous pictures of Earth as part of the Crew Earth Observation examination, among the longest-running examinations aboard the spaceport station, which adds to tracking of natural disasters and modifications to our house world.
It was McArthurs 2nd spaceflight and her first to the space station, and she has actually logged 212 total days in area. Pesquet performed four spacewalks, for an overall of six spacewalks during his 2 spaceflights amounting to 395 days, the most days in area for an ESA astronaut.