Four members of SpaceX Crew-8 have concluded their seven-and-a-half-month stint in space, preparing for a splashdown off Florida’s coast. The remaining crew at the International Space Station resumed normal operations, conducting maintenance and scientific studies to enhance long-term space habitation.
Seven members of Expedition 72 remain aboard the International Space Station (ISS) after the departure of four SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts, who boarded the Dragon Endeavour spacecraft and left the ISS on Wednesday.
Crew-8’s Commander Matthew Dominick, Pilot Mike Barratt, and Mission Specialists Jeanette Epps and Alexander Grebenkin are currently orbiting Earth inside Endeavour, approaching the end of their seven-and-a-half-month mission. The team is scheduled to splash down off the coast of Florida at 3:29 a.m. EDT on Friday, with live coverage on NASA+ beginning at 2:15 a.m. Viewers can access NASA broadcasts through various platforms, including social media.
Daily Operations and Maintenance on the ISS
Meanwhile, the four NASA astronauts aboard the ISS took a delayed start on Thursday after assisting with Crew-8’s departure. Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineers Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Don Pettit stayed on duty late Wednesday, overseeing systems as Dragon undocked from the space-facing port of the Harmony module at 5:05 p.m. By Thursday, the team was back on task, focusing on routine maintenance and ongoing research projects.
Williams spent her shift in the Quest airlock cleaning cooling loops on a spacesuit and checking the suit’s other components. Pettit inspected fire extinguishers and breathing masks throughout the station’s U.S. segment ensuring they were in good operating condition.
Scientific Research and Technological Advancements in Space
Human research and technology studies were on the science portion of the schedule informing researchers how to successfully live and work in space long-term. Hague collected his saliva and urine samples for stowage in a science freezer and later analysis to understand microgravity’s effect on the human body. Wilmore set up the Sphere Cam-2 and filmed activities in the Destiny laboratory module in ultra-high resolution testing its ability to provide highly detailed mission imagery on future missions.
The three Roscosmos cosmonauts aboard the station worked a full shift on Thursday focusing on their complement of lab upkeep and space research. Three-time station visitor Alexey Ovchinin spent Thursday servicing life support hardware in the Zvezda service module. Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner photographed points on Earth testing a technique to determine the space station’s position in orbit, while first-time space flyer Aleksandr Gorbunov worked on orbital plumbing and labeled the contents of medical cabinets.
Upcoming SpaceX Mission and Resupply Preparations
NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Monday, Nov. 4 for the launch of the agency’s SpaceX 31st commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station due to ongoing operations including Crew-9 port relocation and spacecraft integration for the cargo flight.
The company’s Dragon spacecraft will liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and deliver food, supplies, and science investigations to the orbiting laboratory.
NASA will provide additional updates and information on launch and docking when available.
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