SpaceX Crew-12 Splashes Down After 235-Day ISS Mission off Los Angeles
Updated
Updated · NBC Los Angeles · Oct 8
SpaceX Crew-12 Splashes Down After 235-Day ISS Mission off Los Angeles
3 articles · Updated · NBC Los Angeles · Oct 8
Summary
Four astronauts returned from the International Space Station at about 8:35 a.m. PT, when SpaceX’s Dragon Freedom parachuted into the Pacific off Southern California.
The splashdown ended a 235-day mission that began with a Feb. 13 launch from Florida and a Wednesday undocking from the ISS before the capsule fired engines to leave orbit.
Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot and Andrey Fedyaev spent the mission running science on stem cells, blood flow, bone density and protein crystals while also helping prepare for deep-space exploration.
Crew-12 also completed four spacewalks to maintain and upgrade station systems, and the capsule was then hoisted onto a recovery ship for the crew’s trip back to the mainland.
Their return hands the station to Crew-13, whose six-month stay has begun under commander Jessica Watkins, the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit.