KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Crew-1’s time in space is nearing the end, but engineers on the ground still have to get those astronauts back to Earth. That mission started November 15, 2020, from the Kennedy Space Center when SpaceX launched the first regular crewed mission into orbit for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University associate professor of spaceflight operations, Erik Seedhouse, considers it a signature event in space flight history.

“It wasn't just the case of 'SpaceX, here you go just design a spacecraft that can fly humans.' They had to follow very, very strict guidelines, very, very strict safety guidelines in place by NASA. They had to meet all those,” he said.

Hours after the successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, there was another success to celebrate. The crew onboard tucked inside the Crew Dragon spacecraft Resilience arrived safely at the International Space Station. 

There, NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi conducted hundreds of science experiments, hours of daily exercise, and had constant contact with Mission Control on Earth. Each day was detailed to the minute by mission planners. 

In addition to his work as an author and preparing students at Embry-Riddle for careers in the space industry, Seedhouse also works with a company that trains astronauts for commercial flights. He explains the 6-month mission on the lab in space takes a toll physically.

“They've been up there a long period of time, so they've lost a lot of their muscle mass or their bone mass, and so they are very, very weak," he said. "They are as weak as kittens basically. That's why you have the crew recovery services and the search and rescue team waiting for them on the return, because they have difficulty getting up from their couches."

Dragon will take the astronauts back to Earth and land in the Atlantic Ocean.

“When they are coming in for splash down that is still a risky part of the mission because there are two ways that a spacecraft can land: upright, which is what NASA calls stable one, and upside down which is what NASA calls stable two, but the Crew plan for this. You always plan for the worst and hope for the best,” Seedhouse said.

Seedhouse says even if they land away from the waiting recovery crews, the astronauts can take care of themselves until they’re pulled to safety. They spent two and a half years training for this mission in space. 

NASA and SpaceX are planning for the return of Crew-1 on April 28, with splashdown around 12:35 p.m. off the coast of Florida.