And the SpaceX Crew-2 Astronauts Return Home!

Washington: SpaceX’s Crew-2 astronauts returned to Earth late Monday (Nov. 8) after six months in space, splashing down off the Florida coast to bring the private company’s second long-duration mission to a close.

At 10:33 p.m. EST (0333 GMT on Nov. 9), SpaceX’s Crew-2 mission for NASA splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico just south of Pensacola, Florida, with a recovery ship quickly retrieving the spaceflyers’ Crew Dragon capsule from the sea. Their six-month mission on the International Space Station came to an end with their homecoming (ISS). After the capsule landed safely in the Gulf of Mexico, mission control officials radioed the crew, “Endeavour, on behalf of SpaceX, welcome back to planet Earth.” 

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour completed its second spaceflight, safely transporting four astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS): NASA’s Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, the European Space Agency’s Thomas Pesquet, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Akihiko Hoshide.

SpaceX successfully launched its second long-duration mission on behalf of NASA. The Crew-2 astronauts arrived at the International Space Station in April and spent slightly over 200 days there living and working.