The Crew Dragon – NASA Crew 5 (Endurance) – safely splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tampa, Florida, USA on 12 March at 0202 GMT. After an automated 11 minute de-orbit burn the craft re-entered and deployed its main chutes at an approximate altitude of 6,500 feet, slowing the craft’s speed from an initial 17,100 mph to 16 mph (25.7 kph). Two fast boats were deployed to the splashdown site with the recovery ship Shannon in attendance.
Crew Dragon – NASA Crew 5 (Endurance) splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico. Courtesy: NASA TV
After 157 days in space, NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina remained in Endurance while the craft was hoisted onboard the main deck of Shannon. After medical checks, the crew were transported to Tampa by helicopter and then boarded a flight to Houston.
This was Koichi Wakata’s fifth mission and the first for Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada and Anna Kikina.
Other events on the International Space Station – dodging a satellite and debris
On 6 March, the Progress MS-22 cargo spacecraft docked to ISS fired its thrusters for 375.8 seconds. This changed the ISS’s velocity by 0.7 meters per second and raised its orbit to avoid NUSAT 17, a small commercial satellite..
On 14 March 2023 at 1154 GMT, the PROGRESS MS-22 spacecraft which is docked to ISS fired its thrusters for 135 seconds with an impulse 0.3 m/s. . This raised its orbit to 419 km to avoid space debris.
