NASA Astronauts Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley Attempt First Splashdown in SpaceX Crew Dragon Spacecraft

By  //  August 2, 2020

First astronaut splashdown in 45 years

ABOVE VIDEO: Crew Demo-2 Splashdown. The splashdown on Sunday will be first U.S. astronaut splashdown since 1975 when the Apollo vehicle returned to the Pacific after meeting up with a Soviet Soyuz craft above the Earth.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley still inside, has been hoisted onto the deck of the company’s “GO Navigator” recovery vessel. (NASA image)

UPDATE

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley still inside, has been hoisted onto the deck of the company’s “GO Navigator” recovery vessel.

Crew Dragon “Endeavour” splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 2:48 p.m. EDT. It is the first time a commercially built and operated American crew spacecraft has returned from the International Space Station to complete a test flight, beginning a new era in human spaceflight.

ORIGINAL STORY

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – NASA and SpaceX are targeting 2:48 p.m. EDT on Sunday for the splashdown and conclusion of the Demo-2 test flight mission, which is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

The splashdown on Sunday will be first U.S. astronaut splashdown since 1975 when the Apollo vehicle returned to the Pacific after meeting up with a Soviet Soyuz craft above the Earth.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, lifted off May 30 on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

With this test flight, NASA and the U.S. aerospace industry are marking the first successful launch of a crew to the space station on a commercially built and operated American rocket and spacecraft, and a safe return to Earth for that spacecraft and crew.

This is SpaceX’s final test flight in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and will provide data on the performance of the Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon spacecraft, and ground systems, as well as in-orbit, docking, landing, and crew return operations.

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