New Delhi: The SpaceX Crew 8 Dragon has finally returned to the Earth with a splashdown off the coast of Florida, near Pensacola after its departure from the International Space Station (ISS) was repeatedly delayed because of unfavourable weather conditions. The SpaceX Crew 8 Dragon undocked from the International Space Station yesterday, with three NASA astronauts, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps and Matt Dominick on board, as well as a Russian Cosmonaut, Alexander Grebenkin. The quartet spent a day orbiting the Earth on board the crew module, which ditched its trunk before re-entering the atmosphere and deploying its parachutes.
The Crew 8 Dragon passengers from left to right, Roscosmos Cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin and NASA astronauts Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps and Matt Dominick. (Image Credit: NASA Johnson).
The SpaceX Crew 8 Dragon docked with the International Space Station in March this year, with the same crew, who are returning after a slightly elongated crew rotation of seven and a half months. The standard crew rotations last about six months. The Crew 8 Dragon was briefly outfitted to accommodate six passengers on board, a contingency that NASA has prepared for but never actually used. The Crew 8 Dragon was supposed to serve as the emergency lifeboat for Boeing Starliner Crew Flight test astronauts, pilot Sunita Williams and commander Barry Wilmore. However, Williams and Wilmore have completely moved to the Crew 9 Dragon, which is now both their emergency and primary ride home.
Further operations at the International Space Station
NASA and SpaceX have opted to delay a Cargo Dragon resupply mission to the International Space Station because of the juggling of plans necessary for the extended stay of the Crew 9 Dragon and its continued use of the space-facing port on the Harmony module. NASA and SpaceX are looking to launch the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the cargo Dragon on 4 November, 2024 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre, with food, supplies and science experiments. Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore will be returning from the orbital platform along with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov in February 2025, on the SpaceX Crew 9 Dragon.
