Since Crew Dragon’s debut, SpaceX has flown more astronauts than anyone - Ars Technica

Enlarge / Crew Dragon splashes down successful the Atlantic Ocean connected Friday afternoon.

NASA

After 170 days successful space, 4 astronauts splashed down successful the Atlantic Ocean connected Friday, bringing an extremity to a palmy NASA-SpaceX ngo to the International Space Station.

Following 2 days of upwind delays, SpaceX's Crew Dragon Freedom returned to Earth disconnected the seashore of Jacksonville, Florida, beneath wide bluish skies and into mild seas. The spacecraft's descent done Earth's ambiance appeared to beryllium nominal, with 2 drogue parachutes deploying connected schedule, followed by 4 cleanable main parachutes, allowing Dragon to splash down astatine astir 25 km per hour.

"SpaceX, from Freedom, convey you for an unthinkable thrust up to orbit and an unthinkable thrust home," Kjell Lindgren, the NASA commandant of the spacecraft, said aft landing.

Lindgren led a ngo that included NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins, arsenic good arsenic European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. Upon landing, the spacecraft was met by 2 SpaceX "fast boats" which secured the toasty-looking conveyance earlier it was brought connected committee the Megan betterment ship, named aft Megan McArthur, an astronaut aboard an earlier SpaceX flight.

This mission, Crew-4, was the 4th operational ngo flown by SpaceX for NASA. Earlier this month, the Crew-5 ngo launched 4 astronauts to the abstraction station, wherever they volition stay for astir six months. Including an archetypal objection ngo successful 2020, and 2 backstage spaceflights—Inspiration4 and Axiom-1—Crew Dragon has present carried 30 radical into orbit.

In a small much than 2 years, SpaceX has surpassed the full fig of astronauts launched into orbit by China, whose quality spaceflight programme dates backmost to 2003; and successful the clip Crew Dragon has been operational, it has exceeded adjacent the Russian Soyuz conveyance successful presumption of the full fig of radical flown into abstraction during that period.

Over the past 2 years Dragon had a fewer flaws, including an intermittently problematic toilet and a lagging parachute connected 1 flight, but NASA officials person been highly pleased with the vehicle's performance. It has safely returned the United States' capableness of quality spaceflight, which had been mislaid since the abstraction shuttle's retirement. Had Dragon not been available, NASA would person been successful the uncomfortable presumption of relying connected Russia for unit transport amid the Ukraine war.

Crew-5 was the past motorboat of 2022 for SpaceX's Dragon vehicle, but 2 missions are expected during the archetypal 4th of 2023. In February, the motorboat of Crew 6 is planned, to beryllium commanded by NASA astronaut Steve Bowen alongside aviator Warren Hoburg. In addition, determination volition beryllium 2 ngo specialists, Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi.

Then, arsenic aboriginal arsenic March, entrepreneur Jared Isaacman volition alert his 2nd Dragon escaped flyer mission, Polaris Dawn, with the extremity of performing the world's archetypal backstage EVA and conducting probe to beforehand quality spaceflight. Alongside him volition beryllium aviator Scott Poteet arsenic good arsenic 2 ngo specialists, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, who enactment for SpaceX. They volition beryllium the company's archetypal employees to alert successful abstraction connected Dragon.