Bill Stafford/NASA
Pensacola, Fla. – The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, Endeavour, returned to Earth early Friday, October 25, safely splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola at 3:29 a.m. EDT. The landing marked the conclusion of NASA’s Crew-8 mission. The Crew-8 team spent a record 235 days in space, setting a record for American crewed space missions.
During their marathon flight, crew members Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps conducted extensive scientific research aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew 8 roster was rounded out by Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin.
Mission Highlights and Scientific Research
Crew-8 launched on March 3, 2024, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Over their extended stay on the ISS, the crew orbited the Earth 3,760 times, traveling nearly 100 million miles in total.
During their mission, the team conducted cutting-edge research, including experiments on stem cells to develop organoid models for studying degenerative diseases and assessing how immune functions are impacted during spaceflight. Other experiments examined material flammability under different temperature conditions and how ultraviolet radiation affects plant growth in zero gravity. These findings aim to improve astronaut health during long-term space missions and contribute to advancements in space medicine.
Starliner and Hurricanes Delay Return
The return of Crew-8 was initially planned for August but was delayed due to technical and weather challenges. Among these was the test flight complication with Boeing’s Starliner capsule and the presence of Hurricane Milton in the Gulf of Mexico.
The storm, followed by persistent high-pressure systems generating strong winds at splashdown sites along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of Florida, pushed the spacecraft’s return back several weeks. “There’s no lessons learned from that perspective. You just have to wait for that good weather to show up,” NASA’s Commercial Crew Program deputy manager Richard Jones said during a post-splashdown briefing.
In response to the challenges posed by Gulf Coast weather, NASA and SpaceX plan to shift splashdowns to the West Coast starting in 2025. “When we make that move, the intent will be to stay on the West Coast for recovery,” Space X Vice President Bill Gerstenmaier confirmed.
Smooth Reentry and Recovery Efforts
The Endeavour capsule undocked from the ISS on October 23 at 5:05 p.m. EDT. It traveled back through the Earth’s atmosphere at a blistering 17,500 mph before slowing to 16 mph under parachutes. After a textbook splashdown near Pensacola, recovery teams from NASA and SpaceX were on-site to assist the astronauts during their exit from the capsule.
NASA later confirmed that all four crew members were taken to a local medical facility “for additional evaluation” after initial medical checks aboard the recovery ship. In a statement, NASA emphasized that “out of an abundance of caution, all crew members were flown to the facility together,” although they reported that the astronauts were in good condition.
Record Duration
The Crew-8 mission set a new duration record for human-rated capsules, with the spacecraft Endeavour accumulating a total of 701 days in orbit across multiple missions. NASA initially certified Crew Dragon missions for 210 days in space but extended the certification to 235 days for this flight.
SpaceX and NASA officials noted that the extended time in orbit presented no issues for the spacecraft. “In terms of capability on orbit, this vehicle did extremely well with its 235 days in space,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX vice president for build and flight reliability. He added that the company is considering certifying the capsule for even longer stays in space.
Looking Ahead: Crew-9 and Future Operations
The Crew-8 return makes way for Crew-9, which launched on September 28 and arrived at the ISS the following day. The two missions overlapped to ensure a smooth handoff, allowing astronauts time to reconfigure seating arrangements on Endeavour in case of an emergency evacuation.
NASA also addressed challenges involving the Boeing Starliner. Initially expected to return astronauts from the ISS, the Starliner experienced thruster issues during docking in June and was deemed too risky for the crew’s return. As a result, the spacecraft was flown back to Earth without passengers in September. NASA intends to redeploy Starliner in future missions, but the complications led to the reassignment of astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to Crew-9, with their return set for February 2025.
With the departure of Crew-8, the ISS returns to a standard seven-person crew, following a busy period that included a record-setting 19 astronauts in orbit across the ISS and China’s Tiangong space station.
NASA’s next planned cargo resupply mission, CRS-31, is scheduled for launch on November 4. Officials noted that while food supplies aboard the ISS remain adequate, additional requested items will be delivered on the upcoming flight.
