12 March 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance spacecraft passed over Kansas around 4:37 a.m. as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere
The capsule streaked across the U.S. in the predawn darkness and splashed into the Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Panhandle.
SpaceX Crew Dragon can be seen reentering Earth over Kansas. (Courtesy: Kevin Brown)
SpaceX Crew Dragon can be seen reentering Earth over Kansas. (Courtesy: Kevin Brown)
SpaceX Crew Dragon can be seen reentering Earth over Kansas. (Courtesy: Gabriel Vansickle)
“NASA’s Crew-7 mission is splashing down off the Gulf Coast of Florida at 5:50 a.m. EDT (0950 UTC)—and skywatchers in the central and southern United States will have the chance to spot SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance spacecraft as it reenters Earth’s atmosphere,” said NASA on Facebook.
Please note the graphic is in ET. (Courtesy: NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli, a Marine helicopter pilot, led the returning crew of Denmark’s Andreas Mogensen, Japan’s Satoshi Furukawa and Russia’s Konstantin Borisov.
They moved into the space station last August. Their replacements arrived last week in their own SpaceX capsule.
“We left you some peanut butter and tortillas,” Moghbeli radioed after departing the orbiting complex on Monday. Replied NASA’s Loral O’Hara: “I miss you guys already and thanks for that very generous gift.”
O’Hara has another few weeks at the space station before leaving aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule.
Before leaving the space station, Mogensen said via X, formerly Twitter, that he couldn’t wait to hear “birds singing in the trees” and also craved crunchy food.
NASA prefers multiple travel options in case of rocket trouble. Boeing should start providing astronaut taxi service with a two-pilot test flight in early May.