(NewsNation) — Four astronauts who were in space for nearly eight months are back on Earth after safely landing in a SpaceX capsule off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, early Friday morning.
The crew, three Americans and one Russian, should have returned two months ago, but equipment trouble and a natural disaster prolonged their homecoming.
Problems with Boeing’s new Starliner astronaut capsule prompted safety concerns, so it traveled back to Earth in September without passengers.
SpaceX, which is owned by Elon Musk, sent a recovery ship to the crew, but Hurricane Milton’s early October landfall in Florida delayed their return again.
NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, first took off to the International Space Station in March. Barratt was the only space veteran at the time.
NASA likes to replace its station crews about every six months.
The International Space Station posted a welcome home message to social media platform X.
“Welcome home, Crew-8! After traveling nearly 100 million miles around the Earth and 235 days in space, your journey is a reminder that no achievement in space — or on Earth — happens alone,” said Dana Wiegel, station program manager, in the post.
Another pair of NASA astronauts are still stuck at the International Space Station. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams remained in space after their Boeing Starliner capsule returned to Earth without them.
Their eight-day mission turned into a months-long mission, now with an expected return of next year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.