Astronauts return to Earth with SpaceX after five months at ISS
'Welcome home,' SpaceX Mission Control radioed.
A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts parachutes into the Pacific Ocean off the Southern California coast (Keegan Barber/Nasa via AP)
Splashing down were Nasa's Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan's Takuya Onishi and Russia's Kirill Peskov.
They launched in March as replacements for the two Nasa astronauts assigned to Starliner's botched demo.
Starliner malfunctions kept Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams at the space station for more than nine months instead of a week.
Nasa ordered Boeing's new crew capsule to return empty and switched the pair to SpaceX.
They left soon after Ms McClain and her crew arrived to take their places.
Mr Wilmore has since retired from Nasa.
Before leaving the space station on Friday, Ms McClain made note of 'some tumultuous times on Earth' with people struggling.
A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts parachutes into the Pacific Ocean off the Southern California coast (Keegan Barber/Nasa via AP)
'We want this mission, our mission, to be a reminder of what people can do when we work together, when we explore together,' she said.
Ms McClain looked forward to 'doing nothing for a couple of days' once back home in Houston, US.
High on her crewmates' wish list were hot showers and juicy burgers.
It was SpaceX's third Pacific splashdown with people on board, but the first for a Nasa crew in 50 years.
Elon Musk's company switched capsule returns from Florida to California's coast earlier this year to reduce the risk of debris falling on populated areas.
Back-to-back private crews were the first to experience Pacific homecomings.
The last time Nasa astronauts returned to the Pacific from space was during the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission, a detente meet-up of Americans and Soviets in orbit.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
8 hours ago
- BBC News
Meteorite that hit home is older than Earth, scientists say
A meteorite that crashed into a home in the US is older than planet Earth, scientists have said. The object flew through the skies in broad daylight before exploding across the state of Georgia on 26 June, Nasa confirmed. Researchers at the University of Georgia examined a fragment of the rock that pierced the roof of a home in the city of McDonough. They found that, based on the type of meteorite, it is expected to have formed more than four billion years ago, making it older than Earth. Residents in Georgia and Atlanta reported hundreds of sightings and a loud booming noise when the fireball tore through the skies. The rock quickly diminished in size and speed, but still travelled at least 1 km per second, going through a man's roof in Henry fragments that struck the building were handed over to scientists, who analysed their origins."This particular meteor that entered the atmosphere has a long history before it made it to the ground of McDonough," Scott Harris, a geologist at the University of Georgia, said. Using optical and electron microscopy, Harris and his team determined the rock was a chondrite - the most abundant type of stony meteorite, according to Nasa - which meant that it was approximately 4.5 billion years old. The home's resident said he is still finding pieces of space dust around his home from the object, which has been named the McDonough meteorite, is the 27th to have been recovered from Georgia."This is something that used to be expected once every few decades and not multiple times within 20 years," Harris said."Modern technology, in addition to an attentive public, is going to help us recover more and more meteorites."Harris is hoping to publish his findings on the composition and speed of the asteroid, which will help to understand the threat of further asteroids."One day there will be an opportunity, and we never know when it's going to be, for something large to hit and create a catastrophic situation. If we can guard against that, we want to," he said.
Leader Live
a day ago
- Leader Live
Astronauts return to Earth with SpaceX after five months at ISS
Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Pacific off the Southern California coast a day after departing the orbiting lab. 'Welcome home,' SpaceX Mission Control radioed. Splashing down were Nasa's Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan's Takuya Onishi and Russia's Kirill Peskov. They launched in March as replacements for the two Nasa astronauts assigned to Starliner's botched demo. Starliner malfunctions kept Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams at the space station for more than nine months instead of a week. Nasa ordered Boeing's new crew capsule to return empty and switched the pair to SpaceX. They left soon after Ms McClain and her crew arrived to take their places. Mr Wilmore has since retired from Nasa. Before leaving the space station on Friday, Ms McClain made note of 'some tumultuous times on Earth' with people struggling. 'We want this mission, our mission, to be a reminder of what people can do when we work together, when we explore together,' she said. Ms McClain looked forward to 'doing nothing for a couple of days' once back home in Houston, US. High on her crewmates' wish list were hot showers and juicy burgers. It was SpaceX's third Pacific splashdown with people on board, but the first for a Nasa crew in 50 years. Elon Musk's company switched capsule returns from Florida to California's coast earlier this year to reduce the risk of debris falling on populated areas. Back-to-back private crews were the first to experience Pacific homecomings. The last time Nasa astronauts returned to the Pacific from space was during the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission, a detente meet-up of Americans and Soviets in orbit.
Glasgow Times
a day ago
- Glasgow Times
Astronauts return to Earth with SpaceX after five months at ISS
Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Pacific off the Southern California coast a day after departing the orbiting lab. 'Welcome home,' SpaceX Mission Control radioed. A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts parachutes into the Pacific Ocean off the Southern California coast (Keegan Barber/Nasa via AP) Splashing down were Nasa's Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan's Takuya Onishi and Russia's Kirill Peskov. They launched in March as replacements for the two Nasa astronauts assigned to Starliner's botched demo. Starliner malfunctions kept Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams at the space station for more than nine months instead of a week. Nasa ordered Boeing's new crew capsule to return empty and switched the pair to SpaceX. They left soon after Ms McClain and her crew arrived to take their places. Mr Wilmore has since retired from Nasa. Before leaving the space station on Friday, Ms McClain made note of 'some tumultuous times on Earth' with people struggling. A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts parachutes into the Pacific Ocean off the Southern California coast (Keegan Barber/Nasa via AP) 'We want this mission, our mission, to be a reminder of what people can do when we work together, when we explore together,' she said. Ms McClain looked forward to 'doing nothing for a couple of days' once back home in Houston, US. High on her crewmates' wish list were hot showers and juicy burgers. It was SpaceX's third Pacific splashdown with people on board, but the first for a Nasa crew in 50 years. Elon Musk's company switched capsule returns from Florida to California's coast earlier this year to reduce the risk of debris falling on populated areas. Back-to-back private crews were the first to experience Pacific homecomings. The last time Nasa astronauts returned to the Pacific from space was during the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission, a detente meet-up of Americans and Soviets in orbit.
