A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft has set a new record.
Initially, the mission was expected to last approximately six months.
The members of SpaceX Crew-8 have begun their return to Earth after nearly eight months at the International Space Station (ISS). Their return was scheduled for several weeks ago, but adverse weather conditions at the landing site off the coast of Florida forced mission organizers to postpone the operation. This delay was not the only one, as it was previously affected by situations related to Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which had been docked at the station during the summer.
The Crew Dragon Endeavour, which was carrying NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, undocked from the ISS at 5:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday, positioning itself about 260 miles above the Earth's surface. It is expected to splash down around 3:30 a.m. ET on Friday. NASA plans to livestream the return home.
The mission, which was initially planned to last approximately six months, has been extended, setting a new record for time spent in orbit: 232 days. Previously, the Crew-2 mission of 2021 held the record for the longest duration in orbit for a Crew Dragon capsule, also aboard the Endeavour, which was at the station for 197 days.
Crew-8 was launched into space on March 4, 2024, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During their time in orbit, the crew members conducted various scientific investigations under microgravity conditions.
