SpaceX’s Crew-5 crew returned safely to Earth. The company’s “Endurance” Dragon spacecraft landed on the Florida coast after 5 months aboard the International Space Station. The capsule was carrying NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann, Japanese Koichi Wakata and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina.
The quartet spent 157 days in orbit during a history books kind of ISS rotation. As Space.com notes, Mann, a member of the Wailaki people on the Crew-5 crew, became the first Native American woman to fly in space. This was also the first time a Russian cosmonaut has flown in a private American spacecraft, marking a turning point amid rising tensions between the United States and Russia over the war in Ukraine last year for NASA and Roscosmos. Wakata, who was part of the team, broke a Japanese record with this 5th return from space.
This mission also marks Endurance’s 2nd orbital journey after the capsule successfully transported the crew of Crew-3 back to Earth last fall. The spacecraft will now return to SpaceX’s Dragon Lair facility in Florida for safety checks and refurbishment prior to its next flight.
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