在太空呆了六个月后，四名宇航员登上了具有历史意义的美国国家航空航天局-太空探索中心任务开始了他们返回地球的旅程。
美国太空探索技术公司美国东部时间周六晚上8:35，被称为“复原力”的美国船员龙号宇宙飞船离开国际空间站。它计划于2010年在墨西哥湾海岸溅落佛罗里达州美国东部时间周日凌晨2点57分左右。此次回归将在美国国家航空航天局电视台、美国国家航空航天局应用程序和该机构的网站上直播网站。
乔·史奇普/路透社
一枚顶部装有乘员龙太空舱的SpaceX猎鹰9号火箭已准备好搭载四名宇航员
由于预计溅落时不利的风速预测，出坞从周五开始。美国国家航空航天局说，周日的溅落和恢复预报中有更理想的条件。美国海岸警卫队已经在预期的溅落位置周围建立了10海里的安全区。
这将是自阿波罗8号于1968年12月27日返回太平洋以来，美国载人宇宙飞船的首次夜间溅落。
美国国家航空航天局的三名宇航员——迈克尔·霍普金斯、维克托·格洛弗和香农·沃克——以及日本宇宙航空研究开发机构的野口聪一正踏上归途。它们于2020年11月15日发射进入轨道，这是作为美国宇航局商业乘员任务的一部分，乘员龙太空舱的第一次载人飞行，也是SpaceX的第二次载人太空飞行。
奥布里·杰明亚尼/合众国际社通过Shutterstock
2021年4月23日，美国宇航局2号机组人员从佛罗里达州肯尼迪航天中心走出来准备发射。
在过去的六个月里，宇航员们进行了几项实验，包括在太空中通过在不同类型的光线和土壤中种植萝卜来生产食物。他们还研究了模拟人体器官的组织芯片，以了解微重力如何影响人类健康和疾病。
美国国家航空航天局说，机组人员在返航时“健康状况良好”。在周六的出坞之前，他们正在将装满研究样本、个人物品和应急硬件的科学冰柜装在“复原”飞船上。
“快回家了!”船员1号龙的韧性指挥官霍普金斯在出坞前几个小时发了推特。“这是一项伟大的任务，地面和空间站上都有伟大的团队。”
周五，机组人员的飞行员格洛弗在太空庆祝了他的45岁生日后，表达了“感激、好奇、联系”。
他在推特上说:“这个轨道实验室是我们团队合作所能取得成就的真实证明。”。"一号机组已经准备好我们回家的旅程了!"
当他们着陆时，宇航员1号将在太空度过168天。溅落后，他们将返回休斯顿。龙号宇宙飞船将被回收并返回卡纳维拉尔角，在那里它将被检查和翻新以供未来的任务使用。
乔·史奇普/路透社
搭载四名宇航员的SpaceX猎鹰9号火箭与乘员龙太空舱一起发射
乘员1号是美国宇航局和SpaceX计划作为美国宇航局商业乘员任务的一部分进行飞行的六次乘员任务中的第一次。
计划中的第二个任务4月23日发布来自佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角的肯尼迪航天中心，四名宇航员登上了“龙族奋进号”宇宙飞船去年五月首次载人航天飞行。
经过大约23个小时的旅程，宇宙飞船于4月24日停靠在国际空间站。乘员2号宇航员将在太空中呆到10月份。
这些飞行标志着美国宇航局和私营部门之间长达一年的努力，以将发射能力带回美国本土，并结束对俄罗斯前往国际空间站的依赖。
船员龙是自航天飞机以来第一艘被美国宇航局认证载人的航天器。
Historic NASA-SpaceX mission begins journey home from International Space Station
After six months in space, four astronauts on ahistoric NASA-SpaceX missionhave started their journey back to Earth.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, dubbed Resilience, undocked from the International Space Station at 8:35 p.m. ET Saturday. It's scheduled to splash down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast ofFloridaat about 2:57 a.m. ET Sunday. The return will air live on NASA Television, the NASA App and the agency'swebsite.
The undocking was moved from Friday due to unfavorable wind speeds forecast at the time of the anticipated splashdown. More ideal conditions are in the forecast for Sunday's splashdown and recovery, NASA said. The U.S. Coast Guard has established a 10-nautical-mile safety zone around the expected splashdown location.
This will be the first nighttime splashdown of a U.S.-crewed spacecraft since Apollo 8's return on Dec. 27, 1968, in the Pacific Ocean.
Three NASA astronauts -- Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker -- and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency are making the journey home. They launched into orbit Nov. 15, 2020, in what was the first operational crewed flight for the Crew Dragon capsule as part of NASA's commercial crew mission, and SpaceX's second-ever crewed flight to space.
For the past six months, the astronauts have worked on several experiments, including producing food in space by growing radishes in different types of light and soils. They also studied tissue chips that mimic human organs to learn more about how microgravity affects human health and diseases.
The crew is in "great health" for the return flight, NASA said. Ahead of Saturday's undocking, they were packing science freezers filled with research samples, personal items and emergency hardware in the Resilience spacecraft.
"Coming home soon!" Hopkins, the Crew-1 Dragon resilience commander, tweeted hours before the undocking. "It's been a great mission with great teams both on the ground and on @Space_Station."
Glover, the crew's pilot, expressed "gratitude, wonder, connection" after celebrating his 45th birthday in space on Friday.
"This orbiting laboratory is a true testament to what we can accomplish when we work together as a team," he said on Twitter. "Crew-1 is ready for our ride home!"
When they land, the Crew-1 astronauts will have spent 168 days in space. Upon splashdown, they will return to Houston. The Dragon spacecraft will be recovered and return to Cape Canaveral, where it will be inspected and refurbished for future missions.
Crew-1 was the first of six crewed missions NASA and SpaceX plan to fly as part of NASA's commercial crew mission.
The second mission in the programlaunched on April 23from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, with four astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft, the same one used during thefirst-ever crewed SpaceX flight last May.
The spacecraft docked at the International Space Station on April 24, after about a 23-hour ride. The Crew-2 astronauts will remain in space until October.
The flights mark a yearslong effort between NASA and the private sector to bring launch capabilities back to U.S. soil and end a dependency on Russia for trips to the International Space Station.
The Crew Dragon is the first spacecraft since the Space Shuttle to be certified by NASA to carry humans.
