NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 Astronaut Returns to Houston

After an overnight stay at Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola in Florida, the NASA astronaut was released and returned to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston Saturday. The crew member is in good health and will resume normal post-flight reconditioning with other crew members.

As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission, the astronaut was one of four crewmates who safely splashed down aboard their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft near Pensacola on Oct. 25. The crew members completed a 235-day mission, 232 days of which were spent aboard the International Space Station conducting scientific research.

To protect the crew member’s medical privacy, specific details on the individual’s condition and identity will not be shared.


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

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NASA Provides Update on Agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 Health

The NASA meatball logo

After safely splashing down on Earth as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission Friday, a NASA astronaut experienced a medical issue. NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin were flown together to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola in Florida.

After medical evaluation at the hospital, three of the crew members departed Pensacola and have arrived at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The one astronaut who remains at Ascension is in stable condition under observation as a precautionary measure. To protect the crew member’s medical privacy, specific details on the individual’s condition or identity will not be shared.

During its return to Earth, the SpaceX Dragon executed a normal entry and splashdown. Recovery of the crew and the spacecraft was without incident. During routine medical assessments on the recovery ship, the additional evaluation of the crew members was requested out of an abundance of caution.

We’re grateful to Ascension Sacred Heart for its support during this time, and we are proud of our team for its quick action to ensure the safety of our crew members.

The Crew-8 crew members splashed down aboard their Dragon spacecraft near Pensacola, Florida, to complete a 235-day mission, 232 days of which were spent aboard the International Space Station conducting scientific research.

NASA will provide additional information as it becomes available.


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

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Dragon Undocks from Station, Crew-8 Heads Toward Earth

The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft is pictured beyond the Candarm2 robotic arm moments after undocking from the Harmony module with four Crew-8 members.
The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft is pictured beyond the Candarm2 robotic arm moments after undocking from the Harmony module with four Crew-8 members. Credit: NASA+

At 5:05 p.m. EDT, NASA astronauts Matt Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin undocked from the forward-facing port of International Space Station’s Harmony module aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

NASA’s return coverage continues with real-time, audio only commentary, and full coverage will resume at the start of the splashdown broadcast. The audio feed will remain available, including astronaut conversations with mission control, in addition to a live video feed from the orbiting laboratory.

NASA’s coverage will resume at 2:15 a.m. Friday, Oct. 25, on NASA+ and the agency’s website until Dragon splashes down at approximately 3:29 a.m. off the coast of Florida, and Crew-8 members are safely recovered. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.


Learn more about the mission by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

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

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NASA+ is Live as Crew-8 Prepares to Undock in Dragon

The Milky Way appears in the vastness of space behind the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the space station's Harmony module.
The Milky Way appears in the vastness of space behind the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the space station’s Harmony module.

NASA’s live coverage of undocking is now underway on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

At 3:24 p.m. EDT, hatches between the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the International Space Station closed in preparation for undocking and return to Earth of NASA astronauts Matt Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin.

The spacecraft will undock from the orbiting laboratory’s Harmony module at 5:05 p.m., heading for a targeted splashdown at approximately 3:29 a.m. Friday, Oct. 25, off the coast of Florida. NASA will provide coverage of deorbit burn, entry, and splashdown at beginning 2:15 a.m. on NASA+ and the agency’s website.


Learn more about the mission by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

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

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Crew-8 Closes Dragon Hatch, Prepares for Undocking

Members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 from right to left, NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps, mission specialist; Matthew Dominick, commander; Michael Barratt, pilot; and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, mission specialist; participate in the Crew Equipment Interface Test at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. Photo credit: SpaceX

At 3:24 p.m. EDT, the hatch closed between the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the International Space Station in preparation for the return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission.

NASA’s undocking coverage begins at 4:45 p.m. on NASA+ and the agency’s website. The spacecraft will autonomously undock from the orbiting laboratory at approximately 5:05 p.m. to begin the return to Earth. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Following the conclusion of undocking coverage, NASA will switch to real-time audio-only before return coverage resumes at 2:15 a.m. Friday, Oct. 25 on NASA+ and the agency’s website.


Learn more about the mission by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

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

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Crew-8 Enters Dragon, Closes Hatch Live on NASA+

The SpaceX Crew-8 members are pictured inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft after arriving on March 5, 2024. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin and NASA astronauts Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Matthew Dominick.
The SpaceX Crew-8 members are pictured inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft after arriving on March 5, 2024. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin and NASA astronauts Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Matthew Dominick.

NASA’s live coverage is underway on NASA+ and the agency’s website ahead of hatch closure and undocking preparations for the return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

NASA astronauts Matt Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin will close the hatch at 3:20 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Oct. 23, between the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the International Space Station.

NASA will provide live undocking coverage beginning at 4:45 p.m. on NASA+ and the agency’s website.

The spacecraft will autonomously undock from the space station at 5:05 p.m. to begin the 34-hour return to Earth. NASA and SpaceX are targeting splashdown at approximately 3:29 a.m. Friday, Oct. 25 off the coast of Florida.

As part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, the Crew-8 mission will return important and time-sensitive research to Earth. The crew launched March 3 on the Dragon spacecraft aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and will have completed a seven-month science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory.


Learn more about the mission by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

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

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SpaceX Dragon with Crew-8 Aboard Docks to Station

March 5, 2024: International Space Station Configuration. Six spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft Endurance and Endeavour, Northrop Grumman's Cygnus space freighter, the Soyuz MS-24 crew ship, and the Progress 86 and 87 resupply ships.
March 5, 2024: International Space Station Configuration. Six spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft Endurance and Endeavour, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter, the Soyuz MS-24 crew ship, and the Progress 86 and 87 resupply ships.

NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin arrived at the International Space Station, as the SpaceX Dragon, named Endeavour, docked to the complex at 2:28 a.m. EST while the station was 260 statute miles over Newfoundland.

Following Dragon’s link up to the Harmony module, the astronauts aboard the Dragon and the space station will begin conducting standard leak checks and pressurization between the spacecraft in preparation for hatch opening scheduled for 4:13 a.m.

Crew-8 will join the space station’s Expedition 70 crew of NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Furukawa Satoshi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko, and Nikolai Chub. For a short time, the number of crew aboard the space station will increase to 11 people until Crew-7 members Moghbeli, Mogensen, Satoshi, and Borisov return to Earth.

NASA+, NASA Television, and the agency’s website are continuing to provide live continuous coverage of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission.


More details about the Crew-8 mission can be found by following the Crew-8 blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

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

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SpaceX Crew-8 Approaching Station Live on NASA TV

The crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station poses for a photo during their Crew Equipment Interface Test at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: SpaceX
The crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station poses for a photo during their Crew Equipment Interface Test at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: SpaceX

NASA+, NASA Television, and the agency’s website are continuing to provide live coverage of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission carrying NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin to the International Space Station.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, is scheduled to dock about 2:30 a.m. EST Tuesday, March 5. Dragon is designed to dock autonomously, but the crew aboard the spacecraft and the space station will monitor the performance of the spacecraft as it approaches and docks to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module.

When the hatches open at about 1 hour and 45 minutes after docking, the Crew-8 astronauts will join the Expedition 70 crew of NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Furukawa Satoshi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko, and Nikolai Chub.


More details about the Crew-8 mission can be found by following the Crew-8 blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

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

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Orbital Plumbing, Foam Physics Wrap Week as Crew-8 Nears Launch

The SpaceX Dragon "Endurance" spacecraft, circular star trails, and Earth's atmospheric glow are pictured as the station orbited 263 miles above the north Atlantic Ocean.
The SpaceX Dragon “Endurance” spacecraft, circular star trails, and Earth’s atmospheric glow are pictured as the station orbited 263 miles above the north Atlantic Ocean.

More lab maintenance was on deck for the Expedition 70 crew as they worked on orbital plumbing and cleaned crew quarters throughout Friday. The seven orbital residents aboard the International Space Station also serviced a variety of science and electronics hardware while continuing to focus on the upcoming Commercial Crew swap.

NASA Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara spent most of her day inside the Tranquility module swapping out advanced hydraulic components inside the orbital outpost’s restroom, also known as the Waste and Hygiene Compartment. She was assisted by astronauts Andreas Mogensen, Jasmin Moghbeli, and Satoshi Furukawa helping uninstall then reinstall the station’s toilet returning it to operational status.

Moghbeli from NASA wrapped up her day cleaning her crew quarters inside the Harmony module. Earlier, Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) cleaned his crew quarters on the opposite side of Harmony from Moghbeli’s. The duo each spent about two-and-a-half hours cleaning the quarters’ vents, fans, air ducts, and sensors.

Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) began his shift in the Columbus laboratory module processing samples for a foam physics study potentially revealing phenomena not possible in Earth’s gravity. The experiment takes place inside Columbus’ Fluid Science Laboratory and explores the coarsening and coalescing of foams that may improve fire safety, water cleaning, and other space and Earthbound applications.

Mogensen, Moghbeli, and Furukawa, along with cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, also continued packing personal items and station hardware throughout the day ahead of their upcoming departure aboard the SpaceX Dragon “Endurance” spacecraft. The quartet is planned to undock from the Harmony module’s space-facing port about a week after the SpaceX Crew-8 mission arrives aboard the SpaceX Dragon “Endeavour” spacecraft.

Crew-8 is targeting its liftoff for 11:16 p.m. EST on Saturday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The Commercial Crew quartet, with Commander Matthew Dominick, Pilot Mike Barratt, and Mission Specialists Jeanette Epps and Alexander Grebenkin, is due to arrive at the station at 2:15 p.m. on Sunday for an automated docking to Harmony’s forward port. The foursome will become station flight engineers living and working in space for a six-month research mission.

In the station’s Roscosmos segment, Borisov and fellow cosmonaut Nikolai Chub tried on a unique suit being tested for its ability to draw fluids pooled in a crew member’s upper body toward the legs and feet. Space-caused fluid shifts toward the upper body are known to create eye and head pressure, as well as the more familiar space condition known as “puffy-face.” Balancing body fluids in space may also help a crew member’s heart rate and blood pressure adjust more quickly to the return to Earth’s gravity.

Chub later joined veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko testing video cameras being downlinked to mission controllers on Earth. The duo also familiarized themselves with hardware that measures the aerodynamic forces the station experiences while orbiting Earth and when spaceships dock and undock.


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

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Station Crew Explores Space Health as Dragon Crew Nears Launch

The four SpaceX Crew-8 members are pictured shortly after arriving at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 25, 2024. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The four SpaceX Crew-8 members are pictured shortly after arriving at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 25, 2024. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Human research, space physics, and airlock operations started the week for the Expedition 70 crew aboard the International Space Station. Back on Earth, four Commercial Crew members are counting down to their launch aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the orbital outpost.

Exercising daily in space is critical to maintain crew health due to the effects of living long-term in weightlessness. Astronauts work out on specialized exercise gear designed specifically for the microgravity environment including a treadmill, an exercise cycle, and the advanced resistive exercise device. Doctors frequently monitor these exercise sessions while crew members are attached to sensors, electrodes, and breathing gear.

Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA and Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) took turns pedaling on the exercise cycle Monday morning for a workout study. The duo exercised inside the Destiny laboratory module for the regularly scheduled aerobics and fitness test that measures heart and breathing rate.

Moghbeli then moved on and joined NASA Flight Engineer Loral O’Hara to work on the NanoRacks Bishop airlock inside the Tranquility module. Both astronauts spent Monday afternoon reconfiguring Bishop after it was reattached to Tranquility following a week of experimental GITAI-S2 robotics tests. The autonomous robotic arm demonstration explores using automated robots to build habitats and spacecraft on future lunar and planetary missions. Furukawa also assisted with the airlock work after he inspected hatches in the U.S. segment of the space station.

Physics was also on the research schedule as O’Hara and Commander Andreas Mogensen from ESA (European Space Agency) serviced samples and hardware for a pair of different experiments. O’Hara swapped optic fiber samples inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox for an investigation exploring how to manufacture fiber optic cables superior to those produced on Earth. Mogensen replaced components inside the Combustion Integrated Rack for a space fire safety experiment.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub had a fitness evaluation on Monday as he jogged on a treadmill with electrodes attached to his chest measuring his heart rate. Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Konstantin Borisov tried on a suit being tested for its ability to help crew members adjust to Earth’s gravity after living for months or years in space.

Meanwhile, the space station is orbiting higher after the docked Progress 87 resupply ship fired its engines for over 17 minutes on Friday. The orbital reboost positions the station for next month’s launch of the Soyuz MS-25 crew ship and the departure of the Soyuz MS-24 crew ship.

Back on Earth, four Commercial Crew members representing the SpaceX Crew-8 mission are at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida preparing for their launch aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. Commander Matt Dominick, Pilot Mike Barratt, and Mission Specialists Jeanette Epps and Alexander Grebenkin will lift off aboard Dragon at 12:04 a.m. EST on Friday. They will dock to the Harmony module’s forward port at 6 a.m. on Saturday beginning a six-month space research mission on the orbital lab.


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

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