SpaceX Dragon spacecraft spotted zooming back to Earth with Crew-6 astronauts aboard
As Dragon made its final descent back to Earth, the spacecraft could be seen screaming across the night sky in Florida. The splashdown is the culmination of a six-month mission for NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
SpaceX Dragon spacecraft returns to Earth with 4 astronauts
The Dragon capsule zoomed by Florida on Monday morning returning to Earth with four astronauts after a 6-month mission on the International Space Station. The spacecraft could be seen on both Florida coasts and safely splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft could be seen bolting across the southern U.S. sky early Monday, returning the Crew-6 astronauts to Earth.
NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev spent nearly six months working and living on the International Space Station. SpaceX launched the Crew-6 astronauts on the Crew Dragon spacecraft in March from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. The astronauts returned to Earth just after midnight Monday, splashing down off the coast of Jacksonville.
As Dragon made its final descent back to Earth, the spacecraft could be seen screaming across Florida's night sky.
SpaceX Dragon spacecraft returns to Earth with four astronauts on Sept. 4, 2023.
(SpaceX)
The National Weather Service office in Tampa Bay recorded video of the Dragon zooming by the Doppler radar tower.
A SpaceX Dragon carrying four astronauts back to Earth is seen flying by the National Weather Service Tampa Bay radar on Sept. 4, 2023. (Image: NWS Tampa Bay)
(NWS)
All Dragon spaceflights end with the capsule splashing down off either Florida coast. The exact location of the splashdown depends on the weather and sea states.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, left, NASA astronaut Warren "Woody" Hoburg, second from left, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, second from right, and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, right, are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN shortly after having landed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023. Bowen, Hoburg, Alneyadi, and Fedyaev are returning after nearly six-months in space as part of Expedition 69 aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
(NASA)
The international astronaut crew officially returned to Earth at 12:17 a.m. EDT where recovery teams on SpaceX vessels were waiting in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville. About an hour after splashdown, the astronauts were brought onboard SpaceX's recovery vessel, MEGAN, and helped out of the spacecraft.
The Crew-6 astronauts overlapped with the Crew-7 astronauts for about a week on the International Space Station who arrived in late August, also via a SpaceX Dragon.