SpaceX Crew-8 Exits Dragon Capsule With Assistance After Splashdown

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SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps all with NASA and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.  Credit: NASA

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00:00And it looks like we are starting to see the first crew member be extracted.

00:06I'm not sure if that will be Commander Matt Dominick or Mike Barrett, but it is typically

00:13one of those middle seats because they're easiest to reach.

00:22So again, you do see that crew member getting some assistance.

00:24I can't quite tell who it is just yet.

00:31I can only imagine what it feels like to have to stand up after spending nearly eight months

00:38in space and having to stand up for the first time with Earth's gravity.

00:43And that is NASA astronaut Matt Dominick, who is now out of the spacecraft.

00:49His very first space flight.

00:51Looks like we're getting some handshakes there.

00:54High fives all around.

01:20For those that have just recently joined us, you can see that the Dragon capsule carrying

01:25our crew eight members has successfully splashed down and been recovered from the splashdown

01:33site off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.

01:36We have just seen the egress or exit of Commander Matt Dominick, who was seated in one of the

01:45two center seats.

01:47We can see so we're standing by for the egress of the other three crew members.

01:53And on your screen there, some of the recovery team and NASA folks there assisting with the

02:00egress.

02:01As we mentioned, we, you know, just standard protocol.

02:04We always help individuals coming back from long duration spaceflight.

02:09We always help them give them some assistance back to the medical base.

02:13So I can only imagine that it feels like 100 elephants standing on your shoulders as

02:19you have to stand up.

02:21This particular mission was in space for 235 days, 232 of them on station.

02:31And this ended up being the longest duration mission that Crew Dragon has ever performed.

02:38So kind of a cool first there.

02:42And the longest U.S. spacecraft flight ever, whether that was through the shuttle program,

02:47Apollo, Mercury, Gemini.

02:49So that's a fun fact.

02:54And so it looks like they're working now to extract the next crew member.

02:58So we'll stand by to see who it is.

03:01But I do expect that it would be NASA astronaut Mike Barrett.

03:06But we'll confirm that just momentarily.

03:13In addition to the individual standing around the outside, there's also a recovery team

03:18member inside the capsule assisting with the egress.

03:25And that is NASA astronaut Mike Barrett.

03:28This is the, he's the veteran on this spaceflight.

03:32The other three flyers on board, Crew 8, were all rookies.

03:43And so in total, Mike Barrett has spent 447 days in space.

03:48Saw some excitement there.

03:58Yes.

04:11So remaining inside Endeavour is NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut

04:16Alexander Gerbanken.

04:18So we'll see who comes out next.

04:20You do see those footrests as they are removed from the spacecraft to give a little more

04:24space for recovery personnel to assist the crew members out.

04:29I think it looks like we might be getting Jeanette Epps next.

04:47So they're continuing to work to get the next crew member out.

05:12And you can really see there's quite a few folks on the recovery vessel.

05:16This really speaks to all those that are involved with helping to make a mission successful.

05:21It's the recovery boat personnel, the folks in Mission Control Hawthorne and in Houston,

05:26as well as all around the world, those that support the International Space Station.

05:31It really is a huge team effort to have a successful mission like this.

05:38And in fact, there's 44 people on the recovery vessel, Megan, to help support tonight's splashdown.

05:45Once again, we're standing by for the egress of our final two crew members.

06:03Yeah, it looks like Jeanette, NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps will be the next one to exit.

06:11Due to the limited space inside Dragon capsule, it's pretty normal to have the two individuals

06:22seated in the center seats.

06:24So the pilot and commander, it's pretty normal to have them egress first as it helps give

06:35a little bit more working room there within the capsule for the crew members and the recovery

06:41team members.

06:53And I do believe that is NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps, who is next out.

07:00Yep, Jeanette Epps was the next one out.

07:04So Alexander Grubinken will be next.

07:06Again, this was her first space flight.

07:09Some quick waves.

07:39And we are starting to see Alexander Grubinken be extracted from the spacecraft as well.

08:03And thumbs up.

08:12And we now have all four crew members outside of Crew Dragon Endeavor following their 235

08:20days in space.

08:22Some cheers and excitement for Crew 8.

08:25That's great to see.

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