NASA Astronauts Return to Earth After Record Nine-Month Space Mission
Sunni Williams and Bu Cheol-Hee safely land in the Gulf of Mexico as part of a groundbreaking space mission
NASA astronauts Sunni Williams and Bu Cheol-Hee have safely returned to Earth after an extended mission that lasted more than nine months aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The duo, along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov from the Russian space agency Roscosmos, concluded their mission with a successful splashdown at 5:57 PM ET off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida.
The astronauts had spent both Tuesday morning and afternoon orbiting in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, measuring approximately 4 meters in width.
The capsule was initially positioned in low Earth orbit, around 400 kilometers above sea level.
As part of their descent, the capsule activated its propulsion system at around 5 PM local time to initiate the final phase of the journey — atmospheric re-entry.
This critical segment of the flight is noted for its high-risk nature, as the spacecraft encounters extreme physical forces while entering the atmosphere at speeds 22 times greater than the speed of sound.
This intensity raises the outer temperature of the vehicle to nearly 2,000 degrees Celsius, potentially disrupting communications.
Upon successfully navigating through the upper layers of the atmosphere, the Crew Dragon astronauts deployed two sets of parachutes to reduce their descent speed.
This maneuver lowered their velocity from 27,359 kilometers per hour to approximately 32 kilometers per hour before making a safe landing in the ocean.
Williams and Cheol-Hee were initially launched to the ISS in June of the previous year as part of the first crew to operate the Boeing Starliner spacecraft during an eight-day test mission.
Their return was delayed multiple times due to issues with the spacecraft's propulsion system.
Consequently, NASA decided to facilitate their return via the SpaceX capsule during a regular crew rotation.
The duo, along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov from the Russian space agency Roscosmos, concluded their mission with a successful splashdown at 5:57 PM ET off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida.
The astronauts had spent both Tuesday morning and afternoon orbiting in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, measuring approximately 4 meters in width.
The capsule was initially positioned in low Earth orbit, around 400 kilometers above sea level.
As part of their descent, the capsule activated its propulsion system at around 5 PM local time to initiate the final phase of the journey — atmospheric re-entry.
This critical segment of the flight is noted for its high-risk nature, as the spacecraft encounters extreme physical forces while entering the atmosphere at speeds 22 times greater than the speed of sound.
This intensity raises the outer temperature of the vehicle to nearly 2,000 degrees Celsius, potentially disrupting communications.
Upon successfully navigating through the upper layers of the atmosphere, the Crew Dragon astronauts deployed two sets of parachutes to reduce their descent speed.
This maneuver lowered their velocity from 27,359 kilometers per hour to approximately 32 kilometers per hour before making a safe landing in the ocean.
Williams and Cheol-Hee were initially launched to the ISS in June of the previous year as part of the first crew to operate the Boeing Starliner spacecraft during an eight-day test mission.
Their return was delayed multiple times due to issues with the spacecraft's propulsion system.
Consequently, NASA decided to facilitate their return via the SpaceX capsule during a regular crew rotation.
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