Four astronauts returned to Earth early Monday morning local time after a six-month stay on the International Space Station. The SpaceX capsule they were traveling in parachuted into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.
Those returning are NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, Russia’s Andrei Fedyaev and the United Arab Emirates’ Sultan al-Neyadi, the first people from the Arab world to spend a long time in orbit.
Before leaving the space station, they said they’d wanted to take a warm bath, drink a warm cup of coffee, and breathe in the sea air since arriving in March. Their return was delayed a day due to bad weather at the landing site, but ultimately, provided a spectacular midnight view as the capsule shot across the sky over Cape Canaveral towards touchdown near Jacksonville.
In this May 2023 photo provided by NASA, clockwise from below, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi, NASA astronaut Warren (Woody) Hoburg, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev pose in a high-pressure suit on the aboard the International Space Station. Astronauts return to Earth after six months on the International Space Station. Their SpaceX capsule was parachuted into the Atlantic early Monday, September 4, off the coast of Florida. (NASA via AP)
The astronauts said it was great to be back. “There are a lot of happy people here,” said SpaceX Mission Control over the radio.
SpaceX launched a replacement for this group just over a week ago.
Another crew change will occur later this month with the long-awaited homecoming of two Russians and one American who has been there for the full year. Their stay was doubled after their Soyuz capsule leaked all of its coolant and a new plane had to be launched.
In between crew exchanges, seven astronauts are now on board the International Space Station. [lt/ab]
2023-09-04 11:56:17
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