Crew-2 Astronauts Safely Splash Down in Gulf of Mexico

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts safely splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida Monday aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, completing the agency’s second long-duration commercial crew mission to the International Space Station. The mission set a record for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crewed spacecraft. The international crew of four spent 199 days in orbit, surpassing the 168 days set by NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission earlier this year.

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet returned to Earth in a parachute-assisted splashdown at 10:33 p.m. EST off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. Crews aboard SpaceX recovery vessels successfully recovered the spacecraft and astronauts. After returning to shore, the astronauts will fly back to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“We’re happy to have Shane, Megan, Aki, and Thomas safely back on Earth after another successful, record-setting long-duration mission to the International Space Station,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. “Congratulations to the teams at NASA and SpaceX who worked so hard to ensure their successful splashdown. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program continues to demonstrate safe, reliable transportation to conduct important science and maintenance on the space station.”

The Crew-2 mission launched April 23 on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Crew Dragon Endeavour docked to the Harmony module’s forward port of the space station April 24, nearly 24-hours after liftoff.

Kimbrough, McArthur, Hoshide, and Pesquet traveled 84,653,119 statute miles during their mission, stayed 198 days aboard the space station, and completed 3,194 orbits around Earth.

Throughout their mission, the Crew-2 astronauts contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities, scientific investigations, and technology demonstrations. In addition, they conducted four spacewalks and multiple public engagement events while aboard the orbiting laboratory. They studied how gaseous flames behave in microgravity, grew hatch green chiles in the station’s Plant Habitat Facility, installed free-flying robotic assistants, and even donned virtual reality goggles to test new methods of exercising in space, among many other scientific activities. The astronauts took hundreds of pictures of Earth as part of the Crew Earth Observation investigation, one of the longest-running investigations aboard the space station, which contributes to tracking of natural disasters and changes to our home planet.

Kimbrough, Hoshide, and Pesquet also completed four spacewalks to install, deploy, or otherwise prepare for installation of ISS Roll-out Solar Arrays. This brought the total number of spacewalks for Kimbrough, Hoshide, and Pesquet to nine, four, and six, respectively. The fourth spacewalk, conducted by Hoshide and Pesquet on Sept. 12, was the first in the history of the space station that did not include an American or Russian.

On July 21, all four Crew-2 astronauts boarded Endeavour for a port relocation maneuver, moving their spacecraft from the forward-facing port to the space-facing port on the station’s Harmony module.

The Crew-2 flight is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which has worked with the U.S. aerospace industry to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil to the space station. The splashdown of Crew-2 comes just before the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission, currently scheduled for no earlier than Wednesday, Nov. 10, on another long duration mission of approximately six months.

Endeavour will return for inspection and processing to SpaceX’s Dragon Lair in Florida, where teams will examine the spacecraft’s data and performance throughout the flight.

Following Crew-3’s launch, the next NASA and SpaceX crew rotation mission is Crew-4, currently targeted for launch in April 2022. Crew-3 astronauts are scheduled to return to Earth shortly after welcoming their Crew-4 colleagues to the orbiting laboratory.

The goal of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station. This already has provided additional research time and has increased the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity’s microgravity testbed for exploration, including helping NASA prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew program at:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

Crew-2: Astronauts Safely Return to Earth at 10:33 p.m. EST

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet splashed down safely in the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 10:33 p.m. EST after 199 days in space.

The return breaks the record for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crewed spacecraft and completes the end of the second crew rotation mission to the International Space Station of the Crew Dragon spacecraft developed in partnership between NASA and SpaceX as a part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

Teams on the Go Navigator recovery ship, including two fast boats, now are in the process of securing Crew Dragon and ensuring the spacecraft is safe for the recovery effort. As the fast boat teams complete their work, the recovery ship will move into position to hoist Crew Dragon onto the main deck of Go Navigator with the astronauts inside. Once on the main deck, the crew will be taken out of the spacecraft and receive medical checks before a helicopter ride to Pensacola to board a plane for Houston.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission launched April 23 on a Falcon 9 rocket from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and docked to the Harmony module’s forward port of the space station April 24, nearly a day after liftoff.

Throughout its mission, the Crew-2 astronauts contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities, scientific investigations, and technology demonstrations, in addition to four spacewalks, and multiple public engagement events while aboard the orbiting laboratory. They studied how gaseous flames behave in microgravity, grew hatch green chiles in the station’s Plant Habitat Facility, installed free-flying robotic assistants and even donned virtual reality goggles to test new methods of exercising in space, among many other scientific activities. The astronauts contributed hundreds of pictures of Earth as part of the Crew Earth Observation investigation, one of the longest-running investigations aboard the space station, which contributes to tracking of natural disasters and changes to our home planet.

Kimbrough has now spent a total of 388 days in space during three spaceflights; he conducted three spacewalks during this mission for a total of nine in his career. It was McArthur’s second spaceflight and her first to the space station, and she has logged 212 total days in space. It was Hoshide’s third spaceflight, bringing his total time in space to 340 days; he conducted one spacewalk for a total of four in his career. Pesquet conducted four spacewalks, for a total of six spacewalks during his two spaceflights totaling 395 days, the most days in space for an ESA astronaut. Hoshide and Pesquet’s spacewalk on Sept. 12 was the first in the history of the space station that did not include an American or Russian.

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

Learn more about station activities by following  @space_station  and @ISS_Research  on Twitter as well as the  ISS Facebook  and  ISS Instagram  accounts.

Crew-2: Crew Dragon Deorbit Burn Complete

The Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet on their return to Earth after a nearly six-month science mission has completed its deorbit burn as expected ahead of splashdown at about 10:33 p.m. EST in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.

Four minutes before splashdown, the drogue parachutes will deploy at about 18,000 feet in altitude while Crew Dragon is moving approximately 350 miles per hour, and less than a minute later, the main parachutes deploy at about 6,000 feet in altitude while the spacecraft is moving approximately 119 miles per hour.

NASA TV coverage available online and via the NASA app will continue until the crew is recovered from the spacecraft.

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

Learn more about station activities by following  @space_station and @ISS_Research  on Twitter as well as the  ISS Facebook  and  ISS Instagram  accounts.

Crew-2: Astronauts Preparing for Final Hour before Splashdown

Watch NASA’s live coverage as NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft are about one hour away from splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico at 10:33 p.m. EST. Weather conditions remain within the splashdown weather criteria and are “Go” at the primary targeted site off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.

Here are the upcoming milestones (all times Eastern):

All times approximate:

9:33 p.m. – Crew Dragon performs claw separation. The claw is located on Crew Dragon’s trunk, connecting thermal control, power, and avionics system components located on the trunk to the capsule.

  • 9:34 p.m. – Trunk separation
  • 9:39 p.m. – Deorbit burn begins
  • 9:55 p.m. – Deorbit burn complete
  • 9:59 p.m. – Nosecone closed
  • 10:21 p.m. – Crew Dragon maneuvers to attitude for re-entry
  • 10:29 p.m. – Drogue parachutes deploy at about 18,000 feet in altitude while Crew Dragon is moving approximately 350 miles per hour.
  • 10:29 a.m. – Main parachutes deploy at about 6,000 feet in altitude while Crew Dragon is moving approximately 119 miles per hour.
  • 10:33 p.m. – Splashdown

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

Learn more about station activities by following  @space_station and @ISS_Research  on Twitter as well as the  ISS Facebook  and  ISS Instagram  accounts.

Crew-2 Astronauts Conduct First “Fly Around” from Inside Crew Dragon

Crew-2 Commander Shane Kimbrough and Pilot Megan McArthur monitor data inside Crew Dragon during their return to Earth on Nov. 8, 2021.
Crew-2 Commander Shane Kimbrough and Pilot Megan McArthur monitor data inside Crew Dragon during their return to Earth on Nov. 8, 2021. Photo credit: NASA

Crew-2 Commander Shane Kimbrough and Pilot Megan McArthur monitor data as Mission Specialist Thomas Pesquet captures photos of the International Space Station during the first ever “fly around” of the complex from inside a commercial Crew Dragon. Joined by Mission Specialist Aki Hoshide aboard spacecraft Endeavour after its undocking Monday afternoon, the four crew members departed the station after 197 days there and are in their final hours in space. They are scheduled to splashdown at 10:33 p.m. EST off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. Live coverage continues on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Below is a look at the International Space Station as seen from inside Crew Dragon Endeavor.

A view of the International Space Station from inside SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Crew-2: Crew Dragon Undocked at 2:05 p.m. EST from International Space Station

The Crew Dragon, Endeavour, as seen from the International Space Station
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour as it undocks from the International Space Station.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft with NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet inside undocked from the space-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 2:05 p.m. EST to complete a nearly six-month science mission.

Endeavour will conduct a series of burns to perform a fly around maneuver to photograph the exterior of the International Space Station. Once the maneuver is completed, additional engine burns will send the spacecraft out of the vicinity of the station and put the Crew Dragon spacecraft on an orbital track that will return the astronaut crew and its cargo safely to the path to its intended splashdown off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.

Crew Dragon Endeavour will autonomously execute the departure burns to begin the flight home.

The return timeline with approximate times in EST is:

2:32 p.m.                   Fly around zenith to aft burn

2:54 p.m.                   Fly around aft to nadir burn

3:17 p.m.                   Fly around nadir to forward burn

3:39 p.m.                   Fly around forward to zenith burn

4:02 p.m.                   Departure burn 0

4:07 p.m.                   Departure burn 1

4:55 p.m.                   Departure burn 2

5:41 p.m.                   Departure burn 3

9:34 p.m.                   Trunk jettison

9:39 p.m.                   Deorbit burn begins

10:33 p.m.                 Crew Dragon splashdown

NASA will continue to provide live coverage until Endeavour splashes down off the coast of Florida and the Crew-2 astronauts are recovered from the Gulf of Mexico.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission launched April 23 on a Falcon 9 rocket from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and docked to the space station April 24.

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

Learn more about station activities by following  @space_station and @ISS_Research  on Twitter as well as the  ISS Facebook  and  ISS Instagram  accounts.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Prepares for Undocking

Crew-2 astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur inside the Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft just before hatch closure on Nov. 8, 2021.Crew-2 Commander Shane Kimbrough and Pilot Megan McArthur are seen inside Crew Dragon Endeavour as they, along with Mission Specialists Aki Hoshide from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Thomas Pesquet representing the European Space Agency, prepared to close hatches between the spacecraft and International Space Station in preparation for their return home Monday night, Nov. 8. The Crew-2 astronauts are scheduled to splash down at 10:33 p.m. EST off the coast of Florida near Pensacola.

Crew Dragon Endeavor will undock from the space station at approximately 2:05 p.m. Live coverage of undocking will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website, beginning at 1:45 p.m. and continuing through splashdown.

Crew-2: Watch NASA TV Now for Crew Dragon Endeavour Undocking Preparations

Watch live coverage now on NASA TV and the agency’s website as hatch closure and undocking preparations are underway for the return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet are in the process of boarding the Crew Dragon for departure from the International Space Station.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission now is targeting a return to Earth no earlier than 10:33 p.m. EST Monday, Nov. 8, with a splashdown off the coast of Florida. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 2:05 p.m. Monday, Nov. 8, to begin the journey home. Mission teams decided to postpone the Sunday, Nov. 7, undocking following a planned weather review showing high winds unfavorable for recovery near the splashdown zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Endeavour will undock autonomously and perform a fly around maneuver to photograph the exterior of the International Space Station. Once the maneuver is completed, the Crew Dragon spacecraft will aim for a splashdown at one of seven targeted landing zones in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 return coverage is as follows:

Monday, Nov. 8

11:45 a.m. EST– Coverage underway for 12:40 p.m. hatch closure

1:45 p.m. EST– Coverage begins for 2:05 p.m. undocking (NASA will provide continuous coverage from undocking to splashdown)

10:33 p.m. EST– Splashdown

Crew-2 is the second of six NASA and SpaceX crewed missions to fly as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, which is working with the U.S. aerospace industry to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil.

With Crew-2 splashdown Monday, Nov. 8, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission is targeting launch no earlier than 9:03 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. For this launch opportunity, the Crew Dragon Endurance is scheduled to dock to the space station around 7:10 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11.

Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

NASA, SpaceX Adjust Crew-2 Station Departure Date

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission now is targeting a return to Earth no earlier than 10:33 p.m. EST Monday, Nov. 8, with a splashdown off the coast of Florida. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 2:05 p.m. Monday, Nov. 8, to begin the journey home. Mission teams decided to adjust the Sunday, Nov. 7, undocking following a planned weather review showing high winds unfavorable for recovery near the splashdown zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

NASA will provide coverage of the mission on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Aki Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet will complete 199 days in space at the conclusion of their mission. The spacecraft also will return to Earth with about 530 pounds of hardware and scientific investigations.

Endeavour will undock autonomously and perform a fly around maneuver to photograph the exterior of the International Space Station. Once the maneuver is completed, the Crew Dragon spacecraft will aim for a splashdown at one of seven targeted landing zones in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.

The NASA and SpaceX teams will determine a primary and alternate splashdown location from the seven possible landing locations prior to return, factoring in weather, crew rescue, and recovery operations. Additional decision milestones take place prior to undocking, during free flight, and before Crew Dragon performs the deorbit burn.

NASA and SpaceX closely coordinate with the U.S. Coast Guard to establish a safety zone around the expected splashdown location to ensure safety for the public and for those involved in the recovery operations, as well as the crew aboard the returning spacecraft.

With Crew-2 splashdown Monday, Nov. 8, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission is targeting launch no earlier than 9:03 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. For this launch opportunity, the Crew Dragon Endurance is scheduled to dock to the space station around 7:10 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 11.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 return coverage is as follows:

Monday, Nov. 8

11:45 a.m. EST– Coverage begins for 12:40 p.m. hatch closure

1:45 p.m. EST– Coverage begins for 2:05 p.m. undocking (NASA will provide continuous coverage from undocking to splashdown)

10:33 p.m. EST– Splashdown

Crew-2 is the second of six NASA and SpaceX crewed missions to fly as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, which is working with the U.S. aerospace industry to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has delivered on its goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station from the U.S. through a partnership with American private industry. This partnership is changing the arc of human spaceflight history by opening access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, more science, and more commercial opportunities. The space station remains the springboard to NASA’s next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and, eventually, to Mars.

NASA, SpaceX Update Upcoming Commercial Crew Flights

With a view of the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building at left, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars upward from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 23, 2021, for NASA's SpaceX Crew-2 mission.
With a view of the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building at left, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars upward from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 23, 2021, carrying the company’s Crew Dragon Endeavour capsule on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission. Launch time was at 5:49 a.m. EDT. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

NASA and SpaceX leadership provided an update Oct. 6 as part of the agency’s Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station – the third crew rotation flight that will carry an international crew of four astronauts on a science expedition to the microgravity laboratory as part of the Commercial Crew Program.

NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer will launch aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft launching on a Falcon 9 rocket on its way to the space station. The mission is scheduled to lift off Saturday, Oct. 30, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Crew-3 mission will fly a new Crew Dragon spacecraft, and will be the first mission to fly a previously used nosecone.

Crew-3 astronauts also will provide an update on their upcoming mission at 2 p.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 7, on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website, from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas prior to going into standard preflight quarantine ahead final launch preparations.

Launch on Oct. 30 would have Crew-3 arriving at the space station early the next day after an approximate 22-hour journey for a short overlap with the astronauts who flew to the station as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission.

Prior to launch, NASA and SpaceX will complete a final dress rehearsal for the mission, and continue reviewing data as a part of the standard mission reviews. In support of Crew-3, SpaceX implemented several improvements to the Crew Dragon system based on knowledge gained from previous flights, including making a software change to build in more communications robustness against radiation effects while docked, adding more cleaning techniques to cut down on foreign object debris, improving computer performance during re-entry, and enhancing the spacecraft’s docking procedures and mechanisms to mitigate hardware interference on the International Space Station side of the interface.

NASA and SpaceX also have been working to conduct joint inspections of the waste management system on the Crew-2 spacecraft at the space station following an observation during a non-NASA mission. Based on the inspections, teams will limit the use of the waste system during the return flight of Crew-2. Earlier this year, the Dragon spacecraft supporting the Crew-2 mission completed a short port relocation flight around the International Space Station, and all systems on the spacecraft performed normally during its undocking and re-docking maneuver. SpaceX will implement a small design improvement on the new Dragon spacecraft supporting the Crew-3 mission and all future spacecraft to make the system even more robust.

Through data sharing with SpaceX, NASA also has gained additional insight into higher-altitude flights of Crew Dragon, the performance of the thermal protection system, and more data on micrometeoroid environment of space helping to improve modeling. In addition, NASA learned more about the environmental control and life support system on an extended in-orbit mission with crew continuously on board, including the system’s carbon dioxide scrubber. On all missions, including cargo flights, SpaceX continues to recover and examine parachutes for continued analysis by NASA, ultimately driving up the safety of all missions.

After Crew-3 arrival to the space station, return of the Crew-2 mission with NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, is planned for early November. This Friday, the Crew-2 spacecraft is targeted to break the record set by Crew Dragon Resilience as it passes 168 days in orbit.

Missions teams continue to target April 15, 2022, for the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the space station for a six-month science mission aboard the microgravity laboratory.

Crew-4 will be commanded by Kjell Lindgren with Bob Hines as pilot, both NASA astronauts. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will be a mission specialist and command the station’s Expedition 68 crew, while the remaining crew member has yet to be named. Crew-3 astronauts are set to return to Earth in late April 2022 following a similar handover with Crew-4.

NASA also announced it has reassigned astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada to the agency’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station. NASA decided it was important to make these reassignments to allow Boeing time to complete the development of Starliner while continuing plans for astronauts to gain spaceflight experience for the future needs of the agency’s missions.

NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps remains assigned to NASA’s Boeing Starliner-1 for a long-duration science mission aboard the International Space Station. It is important for Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada and Jeanette Epps to gain their first spaceflight experience, and Epps currently is cross training with the team on the Crew Dragon system. There are many factors in play before any crew assignment is ready, including discussions with our international partners and Multilateral Crew Operations Panel approval. All three crew members have ample time to train on commercial crew systems and become fully prepared for their missions to the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, Mike Fincke, and Suni Williams will continue to provide experience for Boeing as the agency prepares for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test and Starliner-1 missions. Additional Boeing flight assignments will be made in the future.