Crew-6 ready to return from ISS after six-month stint

Miami, US, Aug 23 (EFE).- NASA’s Crew-6 was preparing to leave the International Space Station after completing a six-month stay, a mission that has also been “a real adventure and a lot of fun,” the crew said Wednesday.

Live from the ISS, NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev answered questions from reporters.

“We got a lot done during the mission, we had two visiting SpaceX cargo vehicles, missions with a lot of science on board, we conducted three spacewalks, (…) and we’ve done a lot of maintenance work,” said Hoburg.

NASA’s Crew-7 mission is set to depart next Friday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, bound for the ISS aboard SpaceX’s Dragon “Endurance” capsule after successfully passing “thorough checks”.

The Crew-6 will return to Earth about five days later, depending on weather conditions, so NASA cannot yet set an exact date.

Crew-6 had praised astronaut Frank Rubio, who completed 300 days in orbit in the ISS this year, making him the fourth American to spend that long in space.

“His leadership up here has been incredible, he’s been incredible to work with. I just want to really recognize the service he’s given to us aboard the space station,” Hoburg added. EFE

emi/ar/ks