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.”
he 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
