Skip to main content

SpaceX’s Crew-3 astronauts wrap up six-month ISS mission

SpaceX’s Crew-3 astronauts are fast approaching the end of their half-year stay aboard the International Space Station

NASA’s Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, along with Matthias Maurer of the European Space Agency (ESA), are scheduled to begin their journey back to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft at just after 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) on Wednesday, May 4.

Related Videos

“Completing Dragon suit checkouts & a view of our SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endurance,” Maurer tweeted on Sunday. “Soon it’s time to head back to Earth & I’m looking forward to home, but also getting a bit wistful that it’ll soon be time to say goodbye.”

Completing Dragon suit checkouts & a view of our @SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endurance 🐉🚀 Soon it's time to head back to Earth & I'm looking forward to home, but also getting a bit wistful that it'll soon be time to say goodbye. #Crew3 #CosmicKiss pic.twitter.com/HTLA2J44uo

— Matthias Maurer (@astro_matthias) May 1, 2022

Crew-3 blasted to space atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on November 11, 2021, before arriving at the ISS later the same day. For all except Marshburn, this was the astronauts’ first orbital mission.

During their time aboard the ISS, the four-person crew worked on numerous scientific experiments, performed spacewalks for maintenance and upgrade work, communicated with earthlings via a series of special events to share their experiences of life in microgravity conditions, and also found time to enjoy the exclusive views from surely the most exciting living quarters ever built.

The departure of Crew-3 will free up some space inside the orbital outpost. Following the arrival of four Crew-4 astronauts last week, the number of ISS inhabitants increased to 11, five more than the usual crewmember count.

It’s been a busy few weeks at the station. Besides the arrival of Crew-4 and the imminent departure of Crew-3, the ISS also recently hosted NASA’s first crew of private astronauts. Organized by Texas-based Axiom Space and using SpaceX transportation hardware, the Ax-1 mission reportedly cost each of the participants around $55 million.

As for the Crew-3 astronauts, they’ll soon be zipping through space in their Crew Dragon capsule, entering the atmosphere at high speed before performing a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida.

Asked recently what he was most looking forward to when he gets home, Maurer said: “I’m looking forward to seeing my family and my friends again, but also to being outside, smelling planet Earth … the richness of nature.”

Asked what he was least looking forward to, Maurer replied: “Gravity,” pointing out that adapting to it may be a challenge.

Editors' Recommendations

SpaceX deploys first batch of more powerful Starlink satellites
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches in February 2023.

After scrubbing Monday’s Crew-6 launch due to a last-minute technical glitch with the ground systems at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, SpaceX moved ahead with the launch of another Falcon 9 rocket from the same launch facility, carrying into orbit another batch of satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband service.

However, these ones are different to the several thousand Starlink satellites that are already circling Earth.

Read more
NASA and SpaceX target new Crew-6 launch date after scrubbed effort
Crew-6 astronauts aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.

After NASA and SpaceX scrubbed the launch of Crew-6 just a couple of minutes before lift-off early on Monday morning, officials have announced they're now targeting Thursday for the next launch effort.

The team called off Monday’s launch attempt at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida when it suddenly encountered an issue in the ground systems affecting the loading of the ignition fluids for the Falcon 9 rocket that will carry the astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) inside the Crew Dragon Endeavour capsule.

Read more
NASA and SpaceX Crew-6 mission ready for launch tonight
From left, NASA astronauts Warren “Woody” Hoburg and Stephen Bowen, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a dress rehearsal for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission launch on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023.

NASA and SpaceX are ready to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station, with preparations underway and launch scheduled for late tonight PT. The Crew-6 mission is set to launch at 1:45 a.m. ET on Monday, February 27 (10:45 p.m. PT on Sunday, February 26) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida using a SpaceX Cargo Dragon and Falcon 9 rocket.

In a press conference following a readiness review on Saturday, February 25, NASA officials said that the crew and hardware had been given the go-ahead. "We had a good launch readiness review and we're on track for the 27 launch," said Dana Weigel, deputy manager of the International Space Station Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. "This morning I had a chance to talk to the crew. They're doing great. Spirits are high and they are ready to go."

Read more