After an extended stay aboard the International Space Station, four astronauts safely returned to Earth early Friday morning, landing in the Gulf of Mexico before dawn.
SpaceX’s capsule carrying NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Russia’s Alexander Grebenkin splashed down off Florida’s coast after a mid-week departure from the space station, AP reports.
Originally set to return two months ago, the crew’s homecoming was delayed due to issues with Boeing’s new Starliner capsule, which returned empty in September over safety concerns.
Hurricane Milton further pushed back their return, followed by high winds and rough seas.
Barratt, the only mission veteran, praised the ground team’s efforts, stating they had “to replan, retool and kind of redo everything right along with us … and helped us to roll with all those punches.”
The four astronauts launched in March and are now replaced by two Starliner test pilots, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, and two other astronauts launched by SpaceX four weeks ago. This new crew will remain on board until February.
With the astronauts’ return, the station now holds its usual crew size of seven, comprising four Americans and three Russians, following months of overflow.
