SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule With Two Astronauts Returns to Earth After 286 Days of Being ‘Stuck’ – One America News Network

Boats were on standby at the site to assess the capsule and retrieve its parachutes.

The recovery team is trained to look for any potential traces of toxic propellant near the thrusters, which can pose health risks to the astronauts and crew.

Members of the recovery team boarded the capsule to prepare for its extraction onto the recovery ship.

After about half an hour, the recovery vessel named “Megan,” which is responsible for lifting the capsule from the water, arrived at the scene. The capsule was subsequently extracted and positioned on the recovery ship. The team then cleaned the exterior of Megan and opened the side hatch to assist the crew’s disembarkation.

Nick Hague, who commanded the Crew-9 mission, was the first to exit, sliding down onto a stretcher.

Following Hague was Aleksandr Gorbunov, a Russian cosmonaut and aerospace engineer, who had spent 170 days in space. Hague and Gorbunov both launched to the ISS aboard the Dragon Freedom spacecraft back in September 2024.

Suni Williams followed, and finally, Butch Wilmore, marking their return to Earth after an impressive 286 days in space. The pair initially arrived at the space station on the Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.

After the initial medical assessments, the astronauts will be flown to shore via helicopter from the recovery ship before being transported to the Johnson Space Center in Houston for further medical evaluations.

While the astronauts may reunite with family members upon arrival at the center, NASA specifies that it is customary for them to spend a few days in the center’s astronaut quarters until flight surgeons grant them clearance to head home.

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