SpaceX Crew-10 Completes Return to Earth with West Coast Splashdown

our astronauts aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance have returned safely to Earth following a four-and-a-half month mission at the International Space Station. The spacecraft undocked from the orbital laboratory on Friday evening and splashed down off the coast of San Diego, California, at 11:33 a.m. Saturday. This marks the first time a NASA mission utilizing SpaceX technology has concluded with a West Coast landing, representing a departure from the ten previous crewed missions that have splashed down near Florida’s coastline since the launch of the Demo-2 mission in 2020. It also constitutes the first Pacific Ocean landing for U.S. astronauts since the Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975.

The Crew-10 team comprises NASA astronauts Anne McClain, who served as commander, and Nichole Ayers; JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi; and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. The crew originally launched from Kennedy Space Center on March 14. Upon splashdown, the astronauts were swiftly retrieved by a recovery vessel and underwent standard medical evaluations before being transported via helicopter to shore and then flown back home to Houston (for McClain and Ayers), Japan (for Onishi), and Russia (for Peskov).

McClain expressed immense gratitude for the experience, stating it was “an honor of a lifetime.” The mission’s departure allowed space for an upcoming cargo Dragon spacecraft, CRS-33, which will utilize a unique reboost capability – a first for SpaceX—to elevate the station’s orbit. Typically, Russian Progress spacecraft handle these maneuvers to conserve fuel reserves for eventual deorbiting of the International Space Station after 2030.

The Crew Dragon Endurance capsule, previously used for the Crew-3, Crew-5 and Crew-7 missions, left behind the remaining crew members on board the station; Crew-11 arrived last weekend in the lead vessel. The mission’s timeline was adjusted due to delays affecting SpaceX’s Crew Dragon fleet, which ultimately resulted in the Ax-4 private mission utilizing a newer vehicle. During their time aboard the ISS, Onishi previously held command as Expedition 73 commander, formally relinquishing duties to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov earlier this week.