A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft has set a new record

SpaceX’s Crew-8 members are yet connected their measurement location aft spending astir 8 months astatine nan International Space Station (ISS).

The unit members were expected to depart nan ISS respective weeks agone but mediocre upwind conditions astatine nan splashdown tract disconnected nan seashore of Florida prompted ngo planners to hold nan homecoming. Prior to that, delays to departure were caused by measures to woody pinch Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft, which was docked astatine nan position complete nan summer.

The Crew Dragon Endeavour carrying NASA astronauts, Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, undocked from nan abstraction position astatine 5:05 p.m. ET connected Wednesday astir 260 miles supra Earth. They’re expected to scatter down astatine astir 3:30 a.m. ET connected Friday. NASA will livestream nan homecoming connected NASA+.

The ngo was primitively expected to past astir six months, but nan other clip successful abstraction saw Crew-8’s Crew Dragon Endeavour group a caller grounds for clip spent successful orbit: 232 days.

Before this, nan Crew-2 ngo successful 2021 held nan grounds for nan longest long successful orbit for a Crew Dragon capsule. It was really achieved by nan aforesaid vehicle, Endeavour, which stayed astatine nan position for 197 days.

Crew-8 is undocking aft spending 232 days docked to nan abstraction position – nan longest ngo Dragon has spent on-orbit to-date

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 23, 2024

Crew-8 rode a Falcon 9 rocket to orbit successful a motorboat from nan Kennedy Space Center successful Florida connected March 4, 2024.

During their clip successful orbit, nan unit members carried retired subject investigation successful microgravity conditions. Dominick besides earned a estimation arsenic an ace abstraction photographer, sharing immoderate stunning images connected his societal media relationship during his clip successful orbit.