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First SpaceX Astronaut Mission for NASA Splashes Down

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PHOTO CREDITS: BUSINESS INSIDER

According to Space.com, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley splashed down off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 2:48 p.m. on Sunday. ~

“Welcome back to planet Earth,” SpaceX’s mission control radioed the two astronauts aboard the capsule, which is named Endeavour. “Thanks for flying SpaceX” (The Patriot Factor). “It was truly our honor and privilege,” Hurley radioed back. ~

The SpaceX recovery ship GO Navigator met Endeavour and hoisted the capsule aboard shortly after splashdown. After a series of checkups, recovery teams opened Endeavour’s hatch at 3:59 p.m. The two astronauts were extracted from the capsule ten minutes later and medical personnel were able to assess them. According to Space.com, the two spaceflyers are in good shape after their journey home from orbit. ~

The expedition began on May 30, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lofted Endeavour from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This started the one-day trip to the International Space Station, where the astronauts spent two months. It was the first crewed orbital launch from the United States since the final space shuttle flight in 2011. SpaceX monitored both the flight to the station and the flight back to Earth. “The mission’s looking beautiful; it’s very clean,” Benji Reed, director of crew mission management at SpaceX, said during a news conference on July 29. “The data is looking great, but we want to watch all of this data and learn from it as we come back” (Space.com). ~

NASA officials, writing in an update last week, said, “Teams will examine the data and performance of the spacecraft throughout the test flight to complete the certification of the system to fly operational missions for NASA’s Commercial Crew and International Space Station Programs. The certification process is expected to take about six weeks.” ~

ARTICLE: KYLE SMITH

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