Syracuse native Jeanette Epps returns to Earth in spectacular splashdown

PENSACOLA, F.L. (WSYR-TV) — Syracuse native astronaut Jeanette Epps and her crewmates have safely returned to Planet Earth after an eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

The SpaceX spacecraft, a Dragon capsule named Endeavor, landed in the Gulf of Mexico outside Pensacola, Florida, around 3:30 a.m. Friday.

The capsule, dirtied by space dust, was lifted onto a recovery boat just before 4 am.

The splashdown ends Epps and Crew-8’s 34-hour trip home, after 235 days in space.

NASA confirms to NewsChannel 9 that the mission will make Epps the African American with the most time in space.

Epps, a Corcoran High School and Le Moyne College graduate arrived at the ISS in early March.

At formal farewell remarks on the ISS in early October, Epps thanked her twin sister.

NewsChannel 9 was the only local news organization to report from the Kennedy Space Center when Epps launched into Space on March 3.

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