Live coverage: Station astronauts wire up new antennas

Concern about a possible ammonia coolant leak Wednesday prompted astronauts on the International Space Station to evacuate the U.S. segment of the complex and shelter in the Russian portion of the outpost while flight controllers scrambled to untangle initially confusing telemetry.

Wrapping up a nine-day mission, four commercial astronauts on Axiom Space’s second flight to the International Space Station departed the orbiting research complex at 11:05 a.m. EDT (1505 UTC) Tuesday. The crew rode back to Earth inside a SpaceX Dragon crew capsule for splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico at 11:04 p.m. EDT (0304 UTC).

Astronaut Scott Kelly, just back from a record 340-day stay aboard the International Space Station, is leaving NASA at the end of the month, but he said Friday he will continue participating in ongoing medical research to study the effects of long-duration spaceflight.