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NASA SpaceX crew splashed in the Gulf of Mexico New Spaces

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The astronauts have returned to Earth at the International Space Station after a six-month scientific mission.

Four astronauts tied to a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule were safely splashed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida after a six-month scientific mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

The Dragon vehicle, called the Endeavor, parachuted into the sea at 22:30 (Tuesday 03:30 GMT) as planned on Monday, after a fire entrance and descent was transmitted directly by NASA.

Live thermal video images caught the eye of the capsule a minute before it splashed like a meteor in the night sky of the Gulf.

Applause was received from the flight control center as the four main parachutes swelled over the capsule, slowing its speed to about 24 kilometers per hour (15 miles per hour) before slowly falling into the calm sea.

“Endeavor, on behalf of SpaceX, is welcome home to Planet Earth,” he said of the flight control when the crew was confirmed to have a safe splash.

“It’s great to be back,” one of the astronauts said in response to the radio.

Since arriving at the ISS on April 24, two American crews, a Frenchman and a Japanese astronaut, have conducted hundreds of experiments and helped improve the station’s solar panels.

Their activities have included documenting the planet’s surface to record human-induced changes and natural events, growing Hatch peppers, and studying worms to better understand changes in human health in space.

The parachutes extend from the SpaceX Dragon capsule to slow its descent [NASA via AP Photo]

The crew began an eight-hour return trip to Earth to take pictures with a 90-minute loop around the ISS in Endeavor, the first such mission since a similar Russian Soyuz spacecraft maneuvered in 2018.

The dragon, which flew mostly autonomously, has a small circular window at the top of its front stele to allow astronauts to focus on the cameras.

“Proud to have replaced France again in space! Next stop, the Moon? tweeted Thomas Pesquet from the European Space Agency.

The capsule re-entered the atmosphere at more than 27,000 km / h (about 17,000 mph), during which crew communications were lost for several minutes.

The intense friction generated when the capsule is immersed in the atmosphere raises the temperature surrounding the outside of the vehicle to 3,500F (1,927C), and a heat shield protects the capsule from incineration upon re-entry.

The rescue boats were shown heading towards the Crew Dragon against the water, standing in the water. NASA said the astronauts and their capsule would be out of the sea in about an hour.

The departure of the crew was delayed by a day due to strong winds.

Bad weather and what NASA called a “small medical problem” have also delayed the launch of the next astronaut – the Crew-3 mission – which is now set to launch on Wednesday.

Until then, there will only be three astronauts on the ISS: two Russian and one American.



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