Astronauts splash down in Pacific after completing ISS mission that relieved stranded crew members

Four unit members who flew to the International Space Station (ISS) earlier this twelvemonth to relieve 2 astronauts who were near stranded by a beleaguered abstraction capsule returned to Earth connected Saturday. 

NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, on with Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russia’s Kirill Peskov, splashed down successful the Pacific disconnected the seashore of Southern California connected Saturday greeting astatine 11:33 a.m. ET successful a SpaceX capsule. 

It was the archetypal Pacific splashdown for NASA successful 50 years, and the 3rd for SpaceX with radical connected board. 

NASA astronauts past splashed down successful the Pacific successful 1975, during the Apollo-Soyuz mission, the archetypal crewed planetary abstraction ngo that progressive Americans and Soviets. 

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A SpaceX capsule carrying 4 unit members parachutes into the Pacific Ocean disconnected the Southern California seashore connected Saturday.  (Keegan Barber/NASA via AP)

The unit launched successful March, replacing Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were near stuck astatine the abstraction presumption for 9 months connected what was meant to beryllium a week-long ngo aft the Boeing Starliner they arrived successful suffered thruster problems and helium leaks.

NASA concluded returning them to Earth successful the capsule was excessively risky, truthful the Starliner flew backmost crewless, and Wilmore and Williams came location successful a SpaceX capsule successful March aft their replacements arrived. 

Wilmore announced his status aft 25 years with NASA this week. 

"We privation this mission, our mission, to beryllium a reminder of what radical tin bash erstwhile we enactment together, erstwhile we research together," McClain said earlier leaving the abstraction presumption connected Friday, mentioning "some tumultuous times connected Earth." 

NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 members JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, posing earlier they returned to Earth for a representation wrong the SpaceX Dragon unit spacecraft that carried them to the International Space Station.  (NASA via AP)

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She said she was looking guardant to "doing thing for a mates of days" erstwhile backmost home, and her crewmates were excited astir blistery showers and burgers. 

Earlier this year, SpaceX decided to power their splashdowns from Florida to California to trim the hazard of debris falling connected populated areas. 

After exiting the spacecraft, the unit received aesculapian checks earlier being flown via chopper to conscionable up with a NASA craft bound for Houston.

"Overall, the ngo went great, gladsome to person the unit back," Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said successful a property league aft splashdown. "SpaceX did a large occupation of recovering the unit again connected the West Coast."

Crew members wrong the abstraction capsule aft splashdown.  (Keegan Barber/NASA via Getty Images)

Dina Contella, lawman manager for NASA's International Space Station program, added that she was "pretty blessed to spot the Crew 10 squad backmost connected Earth. They looked great, and they are doing great."

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She noted the unit had orbited the Earth 2,368 times and traveled much than 63 cardinal miles during their 146 days astatine the abstraction station.