SpaceX's jam-packed schedule continues with another astronaut return
CNN
Three NASA astronauts and a European astronaut are returning home from the International Space Station, capping off their six-month mission during which they worked alongside Russian cosmonauts and hosted the first all-private crew to visit the orbiting outpost.
The crew climbed aboard their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule after midnight and detached from the space station in the early hours of Thursday morning. They'll spend all day Thursday free flying through orbit as their spacecraft maneuvers closer to the edge of the Earth's atmosphere.
The most dangerous part of the mission will take place a day later. The SpaceX Crew Dragon will streak back into the atmosphere while traveling at more than 22 times the speed of sound, putting the astronauts through intense G-forces as the final portion of their descent begins. Their capsule will then deploy parachutes and float to a splashdown landing off the coast of Florida. They're tentatively scheduled to hit the water at 12:43 am ET Friday.