The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully splashed down near the coast of Los Angeles at 11:34 AM Eastern Time. The mission carried four astronauts who concluded a 235-day stay aboard the International Space Station.
The crew included NASA astronauts Jessica U. Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Following the splashdown, recovery teams secured the capsule to prepare for the extraction of the crew members onto the main deck of the recovery vessel.
For Jessica U. Meir, this mission brings her total time in space to 440 days, placing her among the top ten NASA astronauts by cumulative duration. The mission marked the first spaceflight for Hathaway and Adenot, while Fedyaev completed his second mission. During their eight-month stay, the crew conducted four spacewalks.
Meanwhile, the Crew-13 mission reached the ISS on October 1 at 7:05 PM Eastern Time, setting a record for the fastest transit from launch to docking at approximately 7 hours and 50 minutes. The Crew-13 mission is scheduled to remain in orbit for 180 days, with a planned return to Earth in March 2027.
