Aug. 9 (UPI) — The four members of Crew-10 made a successful water landing off the coast of California Saturday morning, with splashdown taking place as scheduled at 11:33 a.m. EDT.
Crews on the SpaceX recovery ship MV Shannon successfully lifted the Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, aboard the ship.
A NASA medical doctor was the first person to speak to the crew after the spacecraft hatch was opened, following a pressure equalization procedure.
Recovery at the mission’s primary targeted site off the coast of San Diego took place under “fairly decent conditions,” NASA spokesperson Raegan Scharfetter said during the space agency’s live broadcast.
It took approximately an hour from the time the Dragon capsule Endurance splashed down until the four-member crew was able to exit.
The crew successfully undocked from the International Space Station Friday evening, with confirmation coming at 6:30 p.m. EDT.
Crew-10 was originally scheduled to depart the orbiting laboratory on Thursday, but that was postponed due to unfavorable weather at the landing site.
The astronauts had been conducting research and science experiments during their five-month stay aboard the ISS.
Ayers has been documenting the mission by posting photos and video on her social media accounts.
“Wow. I can’t believe how fast the time went by and that we are already on our last day in space. I’m so grateful for these crewmates,” she wrote in a goodbye post before departing the ISS.
“They made our mission something I will never forget. We had so many belly laughs, good conversations, and impeccable operational prowess. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Earth, here we come! GO Crew-10!”
NASA livestreamed the flight aboard the fully-autonomous rocket during the 250-mile journey.
The Falcon 9 rocket successfully separated from the Dragon spacecraft shortly before 11 a.m. EDT Saturday.
The splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California marks the first time one of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program flights lands anywhere other than Florida.
Once recovery is complete, the crew will be given a medical evaluation before being flown to Houston, Texas.
Crew-10 launched from the Kennedy Space Center on March 14, using a similar Falcon 9 rocket produced by SpaceX. The four-member crew arrived at the ISS two days later, relieving astronauts aboard the ISS, including two that had been stranded after arriving on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
