After spending close to eight months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), members of SpaceX’s Crew-8 are finally heading home.
The departure was initially scheduled for several weeks ago; however, unfavorable weather at the splashdown location off Florida’s coast caused mission planners to push back their return. In addition, earlier delays stemmed from the need to address issues with Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft, which was docked at the ISS during the summer months.
The Crew Dragon Endeavour, which is transporting NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, undocked from the station at 5:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday, approximately 260 miles above Earth. Their expected splashdown is slated for around 3:30 a.m. ET on Friday. NASA plans to livestream the return on NASA+.
Though the mission was originally planned to last around six months, the Crew-8 team ended up setting a new record for the longest time spent in orbit with their Crew Dragon Endeavour, totaling 232 days.
The previous record was set by Crew-2 in 2021, which also utilized the Endeavour spacecraft, keeping it docked at the ISS for 197 days.
The Crew-8 mission launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 4, 2024.
During their time in space, the crew conducted various scientific experiments in microgravity. Astronaut Matthew Dominick also gained recognition as a skilled space photographer, sharing some breathtaking images on social media while in orbit.
