Four astronauts in SpaceX capsule splash down in Gulf of Mexico

Four astronauts in the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavor capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico late Monday, capping a nearly 200-day stay in orbit.

The spacecraft splashed down at roughly 10:33 p.m. ET off the coast of Pensacola, Fla., NASA said in a statement.

The crew spent a total of 199 days in orbit, surpassing the record for longest spaceflight by a U.S. crew spacecraft. That record was previously held by NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission, which launched earlier this year and spent a total of 168 days in orbit.  

And… splashdown!

The @SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour has splashed down off the coast of Florida at 10:33pm ET (03:33 UTC), returning the Crew-2 astronauts back to Earth after more than six months aboard the @Space_Station: pic.twitter.com/yZkjL27Cd8

— NASA (@NASA) November 8, 2021

Crew-2 was NASA’s second long-duration commercial crew mission to the International Space Station. The flight launched on April 23 from the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida and arrived at the International Space Station the next day, the agency noted.

The crew members on the flight were NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, along with Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and European astronaut Thomas Pesquet.

During their mission, the astronauts stayed 198 days aboard the space station and completed 3,194 orbits around Earth 

While in space, the astronauts contributed to science and maintenance activities, such as studying how gaseous flames behave in microgravity and installing free-flying robotic assistants.

The astronauts also conducted four spacewalks and multiple public engagement events while orbiting in the laboratory.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 Mission is targeted for launch no earlier than 9:03 p.m. on Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center.