Space-X spacecraft with Indian-origin astronaut aboard splashes down on Earth
Washington (US), May 6: Indian-American astronaut Raja Chari was among the four astronauts aboard a Space X spacecraft that splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Florida, US on Friday after spending nearly six months at the International Space Station.
Nasa's Chari, Kayla Barron and Tom Marshburn, all of NASA and European Space Agency's (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer returned to Earth in a parachute-assisted splashdown into the Gulf of Mexico in Florida, US at 12:43 a.m. EDT completing the agency's third long-duration commercial crew mission to the International Space Station.
The astronauts' Crew-3 mission, which had spent 177 days in space on the SpaceX Dragon Endurance craft to the International Space Station, came to an end with the landing.
NASA's partnership with SpaceX has once again enabled us to safely deliver a crew to the space station and back, enabling breakthrough science that will enable our astronauts to travel further into space than ever before, NASA stated.
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"This mission is just one more example that we are truly in the golden era of commercial spaceflight," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said.
"Raja, Kayla, Tom, and Matthias, thank you for your service and welcome home!" the statement further read.
According to the report, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida launched the Crew-3 mission on a Falcon 9 rocket on November 10th. Endurance docked to the Harmony module's forward space station port about 24 hours after liftoff on November 11. At 1:05 a.m. on May 5, the astronauts undocked from the same port to begin their journey home.
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-PTC News
