Commercial Crew – Space Station

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

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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NASA Provides Agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 Mission Update

The following is attributed to Cheryl Warner, news chief, NASA’s Office of Communications:

“Following NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission’s safe splashdown and recovery off Florida’s coast early Friday morning, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin were taken to a local medical facility for additional evaluation. The crew exited the Dragon spacecraft onto a recovery ship for standard post-flight medical evaluations. Out of an abundance of caution, all crew members were flown to the facility together. NASA will provide additional information as it becomes available.”

Expedition 72 Back to Work as Crew-8 Heads to Earth

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.

Seven Expedition 72 crew members remain aboard the International Space Station after the four SpaceX Crew-8 members entered the Dragon Endeavour spacecraft and departed the orbital outpost on Wednesday.

Crew-8 Commander Matthew Dominick, Pilot Mike Barratt, and Mission Specialists Jeanette Epps and Alexander Grebenkin are orbiting Earth today inside Endeavour nearing the end of a seven-and-a-half-month mission. The Commercial Crew quartet is targeting a splashdown off the coast of Florida at 3:29 a.m. EDT on Friday that will be streamed live on NASA+ beginning at 2:15 a.m. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Meanwhile, four NASA astronauts aboard the station slept in on Thursday following their support of the departed Crew-8 mission. Commander Suni Williams along with Flight Engineers Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Don Pettit were on shift late Wednesday monitoring systems when Dragon undocked at 5:05 p.m. from the Harmony module’s space-facing port. The quartet was back to work on Thursday working on standard maintenance duties and research tasks.

Williams spent her shift in the Quest airlock cleaning cooling loops on a spacesuit and checking the suit’s other components. Pettit inspected fire extinguishers and breathing masks throughout the station’s U.S. segment ensuring they were in good operating condition.

Human research and technology studies were on the science portion of the schedule informing researchers how to successfully live and work in space long-term. Hague collected his saliva and urine samples for stowage in a science freezer and later analysis to understand microgravity’s effect on the human body. Wilmore set up the Sphere Cam-2 and filmed activities in the Destiny laboratory module in ultra-high resolution testing its ability to provide highly detailed mission imagery on future missions.

The three Roscosmos cosmonauts aboard the station worked a full shift on Thursday focusing on their complement of lab upkeep and space research. Three-time station visitor Alexey Ovchinin spent Thursday servicing life support hardware in the Zvezda service module. Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner photographed points on Earth testing a technique to determine the space station’s position in orbit, while first-time space flyer Aleksandr Gorbunov worked on orbital plumbing and labeled the contents of medical cabinets.

NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Monday, Nov. 4 for the launch of the agency’s SpaceX 31st commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station due to ongoing operations including Crew-9 port relocation and spacecraft integration for the cargo flight.

The company’s Dragon spacecraft will liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and deliver food, supplies, and science investigations to the orbiting laboratory.

NASA will provide additional updates and information on launch and docking when 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. Credit: NASA TV

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.

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

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

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

NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 members pose for a photo inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft during training on January 2024. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin and NASA astronauts Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps. Credit: SpaceX — NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 members pose for a photo inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft during training on January 2024. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin and NASA astronauts Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps. 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.

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

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.

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.

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

NASA, SpaceX Target Wednesday for Crew-8 Departure

Astronaut Matthew Dominick points his camera out a window on the cupola as the space station orbited above the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa.

NASA and SpaceX mission managers are now targeting Wednesday, Oct. 23, for the departure of the Dragon Endeavour spacecraft and its four Crew-8 members. Weather conditions are improving off the coast of Florida but officials will wait for one more weather report scheduled for early Wednesday before choosing a final undocking time and splashdown location for the Commercial Crew quartet.

NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin are nearing the end of a seven-and-a-half month space research mission that began with a launch aboard Dragon on March 3. Dominick will command the spacecraft, leading Barratt as pilot with Epps and Grebenkin as mission specialists, back to Earth for a parachute-assisted splashdown on Friday at a site and time yet to be chosen.

The homebound foursome woke up late again on Tuesday sleep shifting to accommodate the after-hours undocking activities. Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineers Butch Wilmore, Don Pettit, and Nick Hague, all NASA astronauts, also woke up late as they prepare to assist the Crew-8 members and ready the International Space Station for Dragon’s undocking.

The three cosmonauts staying behind on the orbital lab, Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and Aleksandr Gorbunov, kept a normal schedule on Tuesday staying focused on space science and orbital maintenance. Ovchinin and Vagner took turns in the morning attaching sensors to themselves measuring their breathing rate. Afterward, Ovchinin observed the effects of natural and human impacts on Earth using a hyperspectrometer while Vagner packed trash inside the Progress 88 resupply ship. Gorbunov attached sensors to himself for a 24-hour session measuring his heart rate and blood pressure then serviced ventilation components in the Nauka science module.

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.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Crew-8 Waits for Weather to Improve as Station Crew Adjusts

The space station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during its departure and flyaround on Nov. 8, 2021.

Mission officials continue monitoring weather conditions off the coast of Florida and have decided to wave off Monday night’s undocking of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission to no earlier than 9:05 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.

Crew-8 members Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps, all three from NASA, and Alexander Grebenkin from Roscosmos woke up late Monday having shifted their sleep schedules in anticipation of Monday’s departure. However, the Commercial Crew quartet spent the rest of the day continuing their daily exercise routines and standard housekeeping tasks aboard the orbiting lab. The four SpaceX Dragon Endeavour crewmates will continue their sleep shifts through Tuesday morning when they receive the next weather briefing to determine their next undocking and splashdown opportunities.

Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineers Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Don Pettit also slept in on Monday having been previously scheduled to assist their departing crewmates. The four NASA astronauts worked a light duty day on Monday and will maintain their adjusted sleep shifts in readiness for Tuesday’s targeted departure of the Crew-8 mission.

The station’s three other cosmonauts from Roscosmos, Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and Aleksandr Gorbunov, remained focused throughout Monday on their contingent of microgravity research and orbital maintenance. Ovchinin started his day replacing life support components in the Zvezda service module before wrapping up his shift imaging with a hyperspectrometer the effects of natural and human impacts on Earth. Vagner packed trash and obsolete gear inside the Progress 88 resupply ship ahead of its mid-November departure. Gorbunov downloaded data collected from radiation detectors then inspected and cleaned laptop computers inside the Nauka science module.

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.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

NASA, SpaceX Adjust Crew-8 Undocking Date

Image shows NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 at the International Space Station — 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.