Three Russian and American astronauts returned to Earth on Monday after leaving the International Space Station (ISS).
On Monday, Russians Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub and American Tracy Dyson arrived in a capsule that landed in the vast steppe of Kazakhstan about three and a half hours after undocking.
Kononenko and Chub flew to the International Space Station on September 15, 2023, and on Friday set the record for the longest continuous stay aboard the ISS. Dyson, who was on his third space mission, spent six months aboard the station.
“Astronaut Tracy Dyson and her crewmates are about to return to Earth from
@Space_Station on September 23. Join us for live coverage starting at 12:45 a.m. ET (04:45 UTC). Undocking is scheduled for 4:37 a.m. ET (08:37 UTC),” the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Eight astronauts remain on board the space station, including Americans Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose return to Earth has been delayed well beyond the original schedule.
NASA via Getty Images/Getty Images
They arrived in June as the inaugural crew aboard Boeing’s new Starliner capsule, but their mission was plagued by setbacks due to thruster malfunctions and helium leaks. NASA eventually decided it was too risky to bring them back aboard Starliner.
Wilmore and Williams are expected to return to Earth aboard a SpaceX ship next year.
Earlier this month, Boeing’s Starliner capsule returned to Earth, but without the two astronauts, Williams and Wimore, on board. Six hours after leaving the International Space Station, Starliner soared through the dark desert sky on autopilot before landing by parachute at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on September 7.
“It’s been a long journey to get here, and we’re thrilled that Starliner is coming home,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager.
The Starliner’s challenges are not new. Boeing’s first test flight in 2019 was marred by software errors that prevented the capsule from reaching the ISS. After three years, the mission was repeated with a new set of problems. More than $1 billion in repairs and modifications were made as a result.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
