SpaceX returns 4 astronauts to Earth, ending a 200-day flight

On Monday, SpaceX returns 4 astronauts to Earth. Thereby, bringing a 200-day space station mission that began last spring to a close.

Before parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, their capsule raced through the late-night sky like a sparkling meteor. With spotlights, recovery boats moved in fast.

“On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home to Planet Earth,” SpaceX Mission Control radioed from Southern California. All four astronauts were out of the capsule within an hour, sharing fist bumps with the recovery ship’s crew.

Their return to Earth came just eight hours after they left the International Space Station. It cleared the way for SpaceX to launch its four replacements as early as Wednesday night. Finally, SpaceX returns 4 astronauts and marks the end of an incredible space journey.

The newbies were likely to launch first. But NASA changed the order due to severe weather and an unnamed medical problem of one of the astronauts. The lone American and two Russians left behind at the space station will now be in charge of greeting visitors.

Before the undocking on Monday afternoon, German astronaut Matthias Maurer was awaiting launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. He tweeted that it was a shame the two crews wouldn’t be able to spend time together aboard the space station. But “We trust you’ll leave everything nice and tidy”. His will be SpaceX’s fourth crew flight for NASA in just 1 1/2 years. In just over a year and a half, this will be SpaceX’s fourth crew voyage for NASA.

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and French astronaut Thomas Pesquet were going to return Monday morning. But they had it delayed due to high winds in the recovery zone.

“One more night with this magical view. Who could complain? I’ll miss our spaceship!” Pesquet tweeted Sunday alongside a brief video showing the space station illuminated against the blackness of space and the twinkling city lights on the nighttime side of Earth.

From the space station, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei — midway through a one-year flight — bid farewell to each of his departing friends, telling McArthur “I’ll miss hearing your laughter in adjacent modules.”

Before departing the neighborhood, the four went for a photoshoot surrounding the space station. This was a first for SpaceX; before their retirement a decade ago, NASA’s shuttles did it all the time. The last time Russia sent a capsule around the world was three years ago.

It wasn’t the most pleasant return journey. Their capsule’s toilet broke down. So, the astronauts had to rely on diapers for the eight-hour journey home. They dismissed it as merely another difficulty in their goal late last week.

The first problem emerged shortly after their April launch when Mission Control received word that a piece of space trash was on its way to collide with their capsule. It was later discovered to be a false alarm. Then, in July, thrusters on a recently arrived Russian lab accidentally activated, spinning the station. The four astronauts took refuge in their docked SpaceX capsule, prepared to leave quickly if required.

Four spacewalks to improve the station’s solar power. A movie-making visit by a Russian film crew. The first-ever space harvest of chile peppers. These are among the positive achievements.

The next crew will also spend six months up there, greeting groups of tourists one after the other. In December, the Russian Space Agency will transport a Japanese entrepreneur and his personal assistant, followed by three businessmen arriving via SpaceX in February. The space station was skipped by SpaceX’s first privately chartered journey, which took place in September.

Engineers will look at the lagging inflation of one of the four primary parachutes. It is shown in testing when the lines clump together, according to NASA’s Kathy Lueders, head of space operations.

Overall, though, “the return looked spotless.”

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to see all four of the crew members back on Earth,” she added, “and I’m looking forward to launching another set of four this week.”

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