NASA's Chris Williams Returns After 241 Days on ISS, Landing in Kazakhstan With 2 Russian Cosmonauts
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 3
NASA's Chris Williams Returns After 241 Days on ISS, Landing in Kazakhstan With 2 Russian Cosmonauts
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 3
Summary
Chris Williams landed near Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on July 26, ending a 241-day International Space Station mission with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev.
During the eight-month stay, Williams completed 3,856 Earth orbits, carried out two spacewalks and spent nearly eight hours on his last walk repairing robotic arms with NASA astronaut Jessica Meir.
His mission also supported research for longer lunar and Mars flights, including studies on how zero gravity affects the brain, balance, eyesight and bone density.
The flight included tense moments: Williams sheltered in a spacecraft during an air-leak scare and, after another astronaut was evacuated in January, spent about a month as the station's only American.
NASA returned Williams to Johnson Space Center in Houston after recovery, capping a mission that also featured student outreach and widely shared space photography.