The first astronaut mission from SpaceX for NASA will happen soon. A Crew Dragon capsule that carried astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley has splashed down in Florida on the 2nd of August. This was the end of the Demo-2 mission. SpaceX’s mission control told the two astronauts, “Welcome back to planet Earth. Thanks for flying SpaceX.”
What did the astronauts have to say?
Doug Hurley stated that this was an experience he will never forget. “It’s hard to put into words just what it was like to be a part of this expedition — Expedition 63. It’ll be kind of a memory that will last a lifetime for me.”
How did it all happen?
The SpaceX recovery ship GO Navigator has met with Endeavour and lifted the capsule shortly after the slash happened. After some checkouts, the recovery team opened Endeavour and got the two astronauts out – about 10 minutes after coming back to Earth. Doctors then made sure that the two of them were alright and that they were in good shape after their fantastic journey in the space. This is something we have not seen in more than 40 years. The most recent “ocean return” happened in July 1975, when astronauts Tom Stafford, Vance Brand, and Deke Slayton finished the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project by splashing in the middle of the Pacific.
Why was this mission important?
The Demo-2 mission started on the 30th of May when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lofted Endeavour from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. This one was the first crewed launch leaving the US soil since the space shuttle fleet in July 2011.
