After 177 days in space, SpaceX’s Crew-3 astronauts King Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Baron and Matthias Morer returned to Earth from the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Marshburn was part of a 3-member panel of crew members who landed last week after a stay on the International Space Station as part of a joint NASA and SpaceX mission. During the live conference, Marshburn said that although NASA, SpaceX and the Russian-built spacecraft in which he flew were all different, they felt more or less the same when launching and re-entering the atmosphere due to simple physics.
Marshburn said, “SpaceX [especially] is a bit smoother through staging. “The [landing] shuttle was very smooth. We almost didn’t know we landed. But it’s nice to see the difference between launch and landing. “
Marshburn also said that re-entry is a “ton of fun”, which may make him an astronaut. Hearing his description of the long-winded freefall after re-entry will turn anyone else’s stomach upside down.
Crew-3 returned to Earth while the mission to the moon and Mars was really warming up. NASA’s Artemis program is taking a lunar-to-Mars approach and will work with SpaceX to transport it to the lunar surface. SpaceX is also planning its own crew mission to Mars – very optimistic – in a decade.
Marshburn’s review is an accurate reminder of how far we’ve come in space research during his career, which is not over yet. It’s a lot of fun to imagine what it feels like to launch a rocket next to Marshburn’s space suit.
And if all goes according to plan, most of us humans on earth will be able to find for ourselves.