NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Astronauts Land Safely in the Atlantic
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts aboard the Dragon spacecraft landed safely in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022.
The international crew of four was in orbit for 170 days. It completed the agency's fourth commercial crew mission to the International Space Station.
NASA astronauts: Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti were aboard this SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft.
These astronauts returned to Earth in a parachute-assisted splashdown at 4:55 p.m. EDT. Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and astronauts.
Following their return to shore, all astronauts will fly to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Cristoforetti will then board a plane heading for Europe.
About Crew-4 Mission
The Crew-4 mission was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 27 at 3:52 a.m. EDT.
Less than 16 hours later, Dragon docked to the Harmony module’s space-facing port. At 12:05 p.m Friday, the astronauts undocked from the same port.
These astronauts traveled 72,168,935 miles during their mission, spent 170 days aboard the space station, and completed 2,720 orbits around Earth.
Throughout their mission, the Crew-4 astronauts contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations.
What is NASA's Crew-4 Mission
The Crew-4 flight is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
NASA's Commercial Crew Program aims to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station.
This already has provided extra research time and increased the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity’s microgravity testbed for exploration, including helping in preparing for human exploration of Moon and Mars.
The return of SpaceX Crew-4 to Earth follows on the heels of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 launch, which docked at the station on Oct. 6, beginning another science expedition.
The "SpaceX Crew-4 Dragon Freedom" Spacecraft will return to Florida for inspection and processing at SpaceX's Dragon Lair, where teams will review the data and performance of the spacecraft throughout the flight.
Welcome of Astronauts of Crew-4 Mission
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said,
Welcome Home Crew-4!
This international crew has spent on the International Space Station for nearly six months conducting science for the benefit of all.