Space station crew heads home as replacements settle in for 6-month tour of duty
Four astronauts have departed the International Space Station aboard a Crew Dragon capsule, concluding a 237-day mission. They are scheduled to splash down off the coast of California following a successful handover to the incoming Crew 13 team.
Why it matters
This mission rotation highlights the ongoing operational cadence of commercial space partnerships and the continued human presence in low Earth orbit.
The four people departing the International Space Station strapped into their Crew Dragon capsule and undocked early Wednesday, setting up re-entry and splashdown Thursday off the coast of Southern California to close out a 237-day stay in orbit.With Crew 12 commander Jessica Meir and pilot Jack Hathaway at the controls, flanked on their left by European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and on the right by cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, the Crew Dragon "Freedom" backed away from the space-facing port on the forward Harmony module at 8:05 a.m.
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