KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — An astronaut who lives in Knoxville returned to Earth from the International Space Station Tuesday night, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico.
John Shoffner piloted the mission, after growing up in southeast Kentucky and moving to Knoxville. He was joined by Ali Alqarni and Rayyanah Barnawi, from the Saudi Space Commission, for the second privately-funded mission to the ISS.
During their time in the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct over 20 science and technology experiments in areas such as human physiology and physical sciences. They also conducted STEAM outreach efforts, connecting with people back on Earth. One of the groups he spoke to as part of those outreach efforts was middle school students in Middlesboro, Kentucky — where Shoffner was raised.
It was Shoffner's first time going to space and said it fulfilled a dream he's had since he was eight years old.
They rode the SpaceX Dragon back to Earth with more than 300 pounds of cargo and data. The spacecraft was undocked from the ISS at around 11:05 a.m. Eastern time. The full ride from undocking to splashing down lasted around 12 hours.