The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft is seen as it splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 3:29 a.m. EDT, returning Crew-8 to Earth. Photo credit: NASA+
NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, splashed down safely in their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 3:29 a.m. EDT, completing a seven-month science mission aboard the International Space Station.
Teams on the SpaceX recovery ship, including two fast boats, are securing Dragon and ensuring the spacecraft is safe for recovery. As the fast boat teams complete their work, the recovery ship will move into position to hoist Dragon onto the main deck with the Crew-8 crew members inside. Once on the main deck, the crew will be taken out of the spacecraft and undergo medical checks before a short helicopter ride to board a plane for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA and SpaceX will hold a media teleconference later this morning at 5 a.m. EDT to discuss the Crew-8 mission and the crew’s return to Earth. NASA will stream live coverage of the teleconference on the agency’s YouTube channel. Participants include:
Richard Jones, deputy manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
Bill Spetch, operations and integration manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
William Gerstenmaier, vice president, Build & Flight Reliability, SpaceX
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick is seen inside the SpaceX Dragon capsule as NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 crew members return to Earth on Oct. 25, 2024. Dragon is scheduled to splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 3:29 a.m. EDT. Photo credit: NASA+
After 236 days in space, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, are less than an hour away from returning to Earth on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft completed its deorbit burn as expected ahead of splashdown targeted for approximately 3:29 a.m. EDT off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.
Upon splashdown, Crew-8 will have orbited the Earth 3,776 times and traveled approximately 100,132,895 statute miles. In their 232 days spent aboard the space station, they also saw the arrival and departure of eight visiting spacecraft.
Four minutes before splashdown, the drogue parachutes will deploy at about 18,000 feet in altitude while Dragon is moving approximately 350 miles per hour. Less than a minute later, the main parachutes will deploy at about 6,000 feet in altitude while the spacecraft is moving approximately 119 miles per hour.
NASA’s live coverage will continue on NASA+ and the agency’s website until the crew is recovered from the spacecraft.
NASA’s live coverage continues as NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, make their return to Earth inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. Splashdown is scheduled for approximately 3:29 a.m. EDT off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. Recovery teams are taking positions in the recovery zone.
The critical deorbit burn is scheduled to start at 2:39 a.m. EDT and will last approximately eight minutes.
Live coverage of Crew-8’s return begins at 2:15 a.m. EDT on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting 5:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 23 for the Dragon spacecraft named Endeavour to autonomously undock from the International Space Station. After performing a series of departure burns to move away from the space station, Dragon will conduct multiple orbit-lowering maneuvers, jettison the trunk, and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere for splashdown off the coast of Florida approximately 34 hours later on Friday, Oct. 25.
NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Oct. 23, for the agency’s Crew-8 mission to depart from the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. An undocking on Wednesday would result in a splashdown on Friday, Oct. 25.
Forecasters have seen improvement in expected weather at some of the landing sites off the coast of Florida and continue to monitor conditions while considering splashdown sites and exact timing. The next weather briefing is scheduled for 9 a.m., Wednesday.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 crew members pose for a photo inside SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA
Weather conditions near the multiple splashdown sites off Florida’s coast remain unfavorable for the return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission from the International Space Station. Forecasts remain marginal for an undocking on Tuesday, Oct. 22, and Wednesday, Oct. 23. If weather conditions improve, NASA and SpaceX will target no earlier than 9:05 p.m. EDT, Oct. 22, for undocking from the space station. Based on the current forecast, conditions are expected to improve as the week progresses.
Mission managers continue to monitor conditions and will meet at 9 a.m., Oct. 22, for the next weather briefing. We will provide additional updates and information on NASA+ coverage when available.
The four crew members that make up the SpaceX Crew-8 mission aboard the International Space Station are pictured in the vestibule in between the Harmony module’s space-facing port and the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. From top to bottom are, NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps, Mike Barratt, and Matthew Dominick, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. Photo credit: NASA
Weather conditions near the multiple splashdown zones off the coast of Florida remain unfavorable for the return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission from the International Space Station. Mission managers continue to monitor conditions and will meet at 11 a.m. EDT Saturday, Oct. 19 for the next weather briefing. If weather conditions improve, NASA and SpaceX will target no earlier than 3:05 a.m., Monday, Oct. 21, for undocking from the space station.
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; will splash down off the coast of Florida no earlier than Sunday, Oct. 13. Photo credit: SpaceX
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 7:05 a.m. EDT Sunday, Oct. 13, for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission to undock from the International Space Station. Pending weather conditions, the earliest splashdown time is targeted for 3:38 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14, at one of the multiple zones available off the coast of Florida.
NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, are completing a seven-month science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory and will return important and time-sensitive research to Earth.
Mission managers continue monitoring weather conditions in the area, as Dragon’s undocking depends on various factors, including spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors. NASA will select a specific splashdown time and location closer to the Crew-8 spacecraft undocking.
Official SpaceX Crew-8 portrait, from right to left, NASA astronauts Mission Specialist Jeanette Epps, Commander Matthew Dominick, and Pilot Michael Barratt, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Aleksandr Grebenkin. Photo credit: NASA/Bill Stafford
Matthew Dominick will serve as commander for Crew-8, his first spaceflight, after being selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2017. He is from Wheat Ridge, Colorado, and earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of San Diego, California, and a master’s in systems engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He is an active-duty U.S. Navy astronaut. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland, and then served as a test pilot specializing in testing aircraft carriers’ landings and catapult launches.
Michael Barratt is the Crew-8 pilot, making his third visit to the International Space Station. In 2009, Barratt served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 19/20 as the station transitioned its standard crew complement from three to six and performed two spacewalks. He flew aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 2011 on STS-133, which delivered the Permanent Multipurpose Module and fourth Express Logistics Carrier. He has spent a total of 212 days in space. Born in Vancouver, Washington, he considers Camas, Washington, to be his hometown. Barratt earned a bachelor’s in zoology from the University of Washington, Seattle, and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Northwestern University in Chicago. He completed residencies in internal and aerospace medicine at Northwestern along with a master’s degree at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. After nine years as a NASA flight surgeon and project physician, Barratt joined the astronaut corps in 2000.
Jeanette Epps was selected by NASA as an astronaut in 2009. She serves as mission specialist aboard Crew-8, her first spaceflight, working with the commander and pilot to monitor the spacecraft during the dynamic launch and re-entry phases of flight. She is from Syracuse, New York, and earned a bachelor’s in physics from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, and a master’s in science and a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Maryland at College Park. Prior to joining NASA, she worked at Ford Motor Co. and the Central Intelligence Agency. She has served on the Generic Joint Operation Panel working on space station crew efficiency, as a crew support astronaut for two expeditions, and as lead capsule communicator at NASA Johnson. Epps previously was assigned to NASA’s Boeing Starliner-1 mission. NASA reassigned Epps to allow Boeing time to complete development of Starliner while also continuing plans for astronauts to gain spaceflight experience for future mission needs.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, who graduated from Irkutsk High Military Aviation School, Irkutsk, Russia, majoring in engineering, maintenance, and repair of aircraft radio navigation systems, also is flying on his first mission. He graduated from Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics with a degree in radio communications, broadcasting, and television. Grebenkin will serve as a flight engineer during Expeditions 70/71 aboard the International Space Station.
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; will launch to the International Space Station no earlier than 12:04 a.m. EST Friday, March 1, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: SpaceX
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 crew members are en route to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin final launch preparations.
Crew-8 crewmates NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, commander; Michael Barratt, pilot; Jeanette Epps, mission specialist; along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, mission specialist, departed by plane from Ellington Field near the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, for the short flight to the Florida spaceport. The crew is expected to arrive at Kennedy’s Launch and Landing Facility this afternoon.
Crew-8 astronauts will be greeted upon their arrival by leaders from NASA for a brief welcome ceremony targeted for approximately 2 p.m. EST. The event is scheduled to stream live, if weather permits, on Kennedy’s YouTube, X, and Facebook accounts.
Meanwhile, NASA, SpaceX, and international partner representatives have gathered at Kennedy to participate in the agency’s Flight Readiness Review, which focuses on the preparedness of SpaceX’s crew transportation system, the space station, and its international partners to support the launch of Crew-8 and return of Crew-7. A teleconference is planned for later today, approximately one hour after the conclusion of the review. Be sure to follow along on our blog; additional details will be provided as the day progresses.
SpaceX Crew-8 is targeted to launch at 12:04 a.m. EST on Friday, March 1, to the International Space Station.
