SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule with Four Astronauts Departs International Space Station, Begins Journey Home

Time Stamp: March 11, 2023 10:26 AM
Source Node: 2512627

On Saturday, May 1, 2021, four astronauts aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule departed the International Space Station (ISS) and began their journey home. The mission, dubbed Crew-2, marks the second successful crewed mission for SpaceX and the first time four astronauts have returned from the ISS aboard a single spacecraft.

The mission began on April 23, 2021, when the Crew Dragon capsule launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On board were NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide. The four astronauts spent seven days in orbit before docking with the ISS on April 24.

During their stay on the ISS, the astronauts conducted a variety of experiments and maintenance tasks. They also welcomed a new crew to the station, which included NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov.

After spending a week on the ISS, the four astronauts bid farewell to their new colleagues and boarded the Crew Dragon capsule for their return trip home. The capsule undocked from the ISS at 11:35 a.m. EDT and began its journey back to Earth.

The Crew Dragon capsule is expected to splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, at approximately 2:56 p.m. EDT. Upon landing, the astronauts will be welcomed back to Earth by a team of recovery personnel.

The successful mission marks a major milestone for SpaceX and its Crew Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft has now completed two successful crewed missions, paving the way for more regular crewed missions to the ISS in the future.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule is an important step forward in space exploration and will help pave the way for more ambitious missions in the future. With its successful return of four astronauts from the ISS, SpaceX has demonstrated that its spacecraft is capable of safely transporting astronauts to and from space.