Wed Oct 30 12:39:31 UTC 2024: ## SpaceX Crew Returns to Earth After Extended Space Station Stay
**Cape Canaveral, FL -** Four astronauts, including three Americans and a Russian, have safely returned to Earth after spending nearly eight months aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The crew, originally scheduled to return in August, had their homecoming delayed due to a series of unforeseen circumstances.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida early Friday morning.
The crew’s return was delayed by technical issues with Boeing’s new Starliner astronaut capsule, which experienced safety concerns during its September test flight. Hurricane Milton then forced a further postponement, followed by weeks of high wind and rough seas.
“We had to replan, retool, and kind of redo everything right along with them,” said Barratt, the only space veteran on the mission, acknowledging the support teams’ efforts to accommodate the delays.
Upon landing, the crew underwent standard medical evaluations, followed by additional assessments at a medical facility “out of an abundance of caution,” according to NASA. The agency declined to comment on the nature of the additional evaluations or the crew’s condition.
While a NASA official confirmed the crew is “doing great,” the Crew Dragon spacecraft experienced two minor hitches during parachute deployment. A set of braking parachutes sustained “debris strikes,” and one of the four main parachutes took longer than expected to unfurl. However, these incidents did not affect crew safety, and the splashdown weather was deemed “ideal” for the astronauts’ recovery.
The astronauts’ replacements, including the two Starliner test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, will stay on the ISS for eight months. They joined two other SpaceX astronauts who were launched four weeks ago, bringing the total crew on the space station to seven.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft, now on its fifth mission, has logged a total of 702 days in orbit. The return of the four astronauts brings the ISS back to its normal crew size of seven – four Americans and three Russians – after months of operating with an overflow of astronauts.
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