SpaceX Crew-12 heads home after 237 days in space
Four astronauts began their journey back to Earth on Wednesday after SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom undocked from the International Space Station, ending a 237-day mission.
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev are aboard the returning spacecraft.
The capsule autonomously undocked from the ISS Harmony module at 12:05 GMT after the hatch was closed about two hours earlier. Footage showed Freedom pulling away from the station with Earth visible below.
The Crew-12 astronauts spent 237 days in orbit as members of Expedition 75. Their departure leaves seven people aboard the ISS, including Crew-13 members who arrived earlier this month.
Freedom is expected to splash down on October 8 at around 15:34 GMT, subject to weather and recovery conditions. Parachutes will slow the capsule during its return before recovery teams retrieve the astronauts, completing their more than seven-month mission.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
Six countries account for three-quarters of Europe’s unicorn startups
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
