The decoupling of the capsule with four astronauts from the ISS went according to plan, as did the entry into the earth’s atmosphere. But when the parachutes opened before landing, observers briefly held their breath.
After six months on board the International Space Station, four astronauts have returned to Earth. The Dragon space capsule from the private space company SpaceX landed on Monday evening (local time) in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of the US state of Florida. A ship stationed nearby is supposed to recover the space capsule, after which the astronauts will be brought ashore by helicopter
There was a moment of shock shortly before landing. The images from the online broadcast showed that one of the parachutes initially did not unfold properly. After a few seconds, however, he could be seen in full size. The capsule is built so that it can land safely with three parachutes.
The French Thomas Pesquet, the US astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur and the Japanese Akihiko Hoshide had spent six months on the ISS. They left the space station before the planned arrival of the German astronaut Matthias Maurer and three other astronauts. Their flight into space from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in Florida had to be postponed several times and is now planned for Wednesday evening.