SpaceX brought four astronauts back to Earth after a 200-day mission to the International Space Station

Four astronauts returned to Earth Monday in a capsule of SpaceX, ending with a 200-day mission to the International Space Station which started last spring.

your capsule Rip through the night sky like a shining meteor Before landing by parachute in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. Rescue boats were quickly filled with flashlights.

On behalf of SpaceX, welcome to Planet Earth., SpaceX Mission Control of Southern California. Within an hour, the four astronauts were outside the capsule, exchanging fists with the team aboard the rescue ship.

His return home – barely eight hours after leaving the space station – paved the way SpaceX is launching four replacement astronauts, which could happen Wednesday night.

Originally the replacements would have started first, but NASA changed the arrangement due to bad weather and the health problem of one of the astronautswhose nature is not disclosed. Now the task of welcoming them will fall to the American and the two Russians who are still on the space station.

Before landing on Monday noon, the German astronaut Matthias Maurer, who is awaiting liftoff at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, tweeted that it was a shame the crew didn’t meet at the space station, but “We are confident that they will leave everything well and clean.” His crew will be the fourth SpaceX crew to fly for NASA in just a year and a half.

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough And Megan McArthur, the Japanese Akihiko Hoshide And French Thomas Bisket They were supposed to return Monday morning, but strong winds in the recovery area forced them to delay their return to Earth.

A bittersweet feeling leaving the space station. An enchanting place in the sky that gives you superpowers like buoyancy and seeing Europe and Africa at a glance. Thanks to the people who built it for everyone’s benefit. It gives me hope that humans can achieve anything, with good intentions, when we want it to.”Pesquet tweeted with images of the space station lit against the darkness of space and Earth.

From the space station, NASA astronaut Mark Vandy helloIn the middle of a one-year journey, he said goodbye to each of his friends who were leaving, and said to MacArthur: “I will miss hearing your laughter in the neighboring units.”

before he comes backThe four astronauts toured the space station and took pictures. This was SpaceX’s first. NASA shuttles were doing this all the time before they retired a decade ago. The last time she did a Russian capsule was three years ago.

The return trip was not the most comfortable. The toilet in their capsule was broken, so the astronauts had to rely on Diapers for eight hours drive home. They shrugged their shoulders late last week and saw this as just an extra challenge in their mission.

The first problem appeared shortly after takeoff in April; Mission Control notices that a piece of space debris threatens to collide with its capsule. It turned out to be a false alarm. Then, in July, batches from a newly arrived Russian laboratory inadvertently ignited and put the station into a spin. The four astronauts took refuge in the docked SpaceX capsule, ready to embark on a hasty departure if necessary.

Among the mission milestones: Four spacewalks to upgrade the station’s solar energy, a Photo visit by a Russian camera crew and the The first spatial harvest of Chilean pepper.

The next crew will also spend six months thereWelcoming consecutive tour groups. A Japanese tycoon and his personal assistant will receive a ticket from the Russian Space Agency in December, followed by Three entrepreneurs arrived via SpaceX in February. SpaceX’s first private chartered flight, in September, bypassed the space station.

Kathy Luders, NASA’s chief of space operations, said engineers will reside Late inflation of one of the four main parachutes. However, in general, “The return seemed flawless.”

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to see the four crew members on Earth.”“I can’t wait to release another group of four people this week,” he added.

(with AP info)

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