A SpaceX capsule with four astronauts on board has detached from the International Space Station (ISS) and is returning to earth after several delays caused by unfavourable weather conditions, US space agency NASA said on Wednesday.
The SpaceX capsule carrying the crew parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico near the Florida coast after undocking from the space station in the middle of the week before dawn. Rescuers have to lift the capsule with the crew out of the water using a hydraulic lifting device.
The three Americans and one Russian were supposed to return two months ago. But their return was hampered by problems with Boeing’s new Starliner astronaut capsule, which returned empty in September because of safety issues.
Then Hurricane Milton intervened, followed by another fortnight of high winds and rough seas.
SpaceX launched four people – NASA employees Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps and Russian Alexander Grebenkin – in March.
Mr. Barratt, the only space industry veteran on the mission, said support teams back home who had to “rebuild, reconfigure and kind of rework everything with us … helped us through all of those challenges.”
They were replaced by two Starliner test pilots, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, whose mission lasted between eight days and eight months, and two astronauts launched by SpaceX four weeks ago. The four will remain on the station until February.
After months of overcrowding, the space station has returned to its usual crew of seven – four Americans and three Russians.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft launched to the ISS on March 4. The launch was made from the site of the John F. Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
