NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 After Splashdown | International Space Station

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 After Splashdown | International Space Station

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti gives a thumbs up after being helped out of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft onboard SpaceX recovery Megan ship

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti waves

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is helped out of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft

Astronaut Robert Hines waves after egress of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft

Astronaut Jessica Watkins is greeted by NASA astronaut representative Megan Behnken

NASA astronaut representative Megan Behnken, left, fist pumps returning NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren 

NASA Flight Surgeon Joe Dervay, left, watches as SpaceX teams help members of Crew-4 out of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft

SpaceX support teams work around the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft onboard the recovery ship Megan

NASA astronauts Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and Jessica Watkins, as well as European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy splashed down safely in the SpaceX Dragon Freedom in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, on October 14, 2022, at 4:55 p.m. EDT after 170 days in space.

Teams on the Megan recovery ship, including two fast boats, now are in the process of securing Dragon and ensuring the spacecraft is safe for the recovery effort. As the fast boat teams complete their work, the recovery ship will move into position to hoist Dragon onto the main deck of Megan with the astronauts inside. Once on the main deck, the crew will be taken out of the spacecraft and receive medical checks before a helicopter ride to Jacksonville to board a plane for Houston.

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Release Date: October 14, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Space #Earth #Science #Landing #RecoveryShip #Megan #AtlanticOcean #ISS #SpaceX #CrewDragon #SpaceXCrew4 #Freedom #Spacecraft #Astronauts #KjellLindgren #JessicaWatkins #RobertHines #SamanthaCristoforetti #MinervaMission #Italy #Italia #HumanSpaceflight #JSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education