Latest News

  • Home
  • Global
  • SpaceX capsule and Nasa crew make 1st splashdown in 45 years
SpaceX capsule and Nasa crew make 1st splashdown in 45 years
Friday, May 8, 2020 IST
SpaceX capsule and Nasa crew make 1st splashdown in 45 years

CAPE CANAVERAL: Two Nasa astronauts returned to Earth on Sunday in a dramatic, retro-style splashdown, their capsule parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico to close out an unprecedented test flight by Elon Musk's SpaceX company.
 

 
 

It was the first splashdown by US astronauts in 45 years, with the first commercially built and operated spacecraft to carry people to and from orbit. The return clears the way for another SpaceX crew launch as early as next month and possible tourist flights next year.
 
Test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken rode the SpaceX Dragon capsule back to Earth less than a day after departing the International Space Station and two months after blasting off from Florida. The capsule parachuted into the calm gulf waters off the coast of Pensacola, hundreds of miles from Tropical Storm Isaias pounding Florida's Atlantic coast.
 
``Welcome back to planet Earth and thanks for flying SpaceX,'' the company's Mission Control said.
 
The astronauts' ride home in the capsule dubbed Endeavour was fast, bumpy and hot, at least on the outside.
 
The spacecraft went from a screaming orbital speed of 17,500 mph (28,000 kph) to 350 mph (560 kph) during atmospheric reentry, and finally to 15 mph (24 kph) at splashdown. Peak heating during descent was 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,900 degrees Celsius). The anticipated top G forces felt by the crew: four to five times the force of Earth's gravity.
 
A SpaceX recovery ship with more than 40 staff, including doctors and nurses, moved in following splashdown, with two smaller, faster boats leading the way. To keep the returning astronauts safe in the pandemic, the recovery crew quarantined for two weeks and were tested for the coronavirus.
 
SpaceX expected it to take a half-hour for the ship to arrive at the capsule and additional time to lift it out of the water onto the deck. The astronauts had plenty of seasick bags if needed while waiting in the bobbing capsule. A flight surgeon was going to be the first to look into the capsule, once the hatch swung open. After medical exams, the astronauts were expected to fly home to Houston for a reunion with their wives and sons.
 
The last time Nasa astronauts returned from space to water was on July 24, 1975, in the Pacific, the scene of most splashdowns, to end a joint US-Soviet mission known as Apollo-Soyuz. The Mercury and Gemini crews in the early to mid-1960s parachuted into the Atlantic, while most of the later Apollo capsules hit the Pacific. The lone Russian ``splashdown'' was in 1976 on a partially frozen lake amid a blizzard following an aborted mission; the harrowing recovery took hours.
 
SpaceX made history with this mission, which launched May 30 from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center. It was the first time a private company launched people into orbit and also the first launch of Nasa astronauts from home turf in nearly a decade. Hurley came full circle, serving as pilot of Nasa's last space shuttle flight in 2011 and the commander of this SpaceX flight.
 
Musk monitored the descent and splashdown from SpaceX Mission Control in Hawthorne, California.
 
Nasa turned to SpaceX and also Boeing to build capsules and ferry astronauts to and from the space station, following the retirement of the shuttles. Until Hurley and Behnken rocketed into orbit, Nasa astronauts relied on Russian rockets. SpaceX already had experience hauling cargo to the space station, bringing those capsules back to a Pacific splashdown.
 
"This is the next era in human spaceflight where Nasa gets to be the customer,'' Nasa Administrator Jim Bridenstine said from Johnson Space Center in Houston shortly before the astronauts' return.

 
 

SpaceX needs six weeks to inspect the capsule before launching the next crew around the end of September. This next mission of four astronauts will spend a full six months aboard the space station. Hurley and Behnken's capsule will be refurbished for another flight next spring. A Houston company run by a former Nasa official, meanwhile, has partnered with SpaceX to send three customers to the space station in fall 2021.
 
Boeing doesn't expect to launch its first crew until next year. The company encountered significant software problems in the debut of its Starliner capsule, with no one aboard, last year. Its capsules will touch down in the U.S. Southwest desert.
 
By beating Boeing, SpaceX laid claim to a small US flag left at the space station by Hurley and the rest of the last shuttle crew. The flag - which also flew on the first shuttle flight - was carefully packed aboard the Dragon for the homecoming.
 
Also on board: a toy dinosaur named Tremor, sent into space by the astronauts' young sons.
 
The boys recorded a wake-up call for their fathers Sunday morning, urging them to "rise and shine'' and "we can't wait to see you.''
 
"Don't worry, you can sleep in tomorrow,'' said Behnken's 6-year-old son Theo, who was promised a puppy after the flight. "Hurry home so we can go get my dog.''

 
 
 
 
 

Related Topics

 
 
 

Trending News & Articles

 Article
'Worse than prison': A rare look inside China's detention camps to 'brainwash' Muslims

ALMATY: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China's new indoctrination camps had to disavow the...

Recently posted . 199K views . 1 min read
 

 Article
What The Shape Of Your Belly Button Says About Your Health

If you have payed attention to the belly buttons of people on the beach or the members of your family, you have probably noticed that they have different shapes and...

Recently posted . 8K views . 2 min read
 

 Article
Top 10 Horrifying Acts of Chemical Warfare and Gas Attacks

In this age of terror, there might be nothing more terrifying than the thought of an attack carried out with chemical weapons. We’ve all heard the horrific ...

Recently posted . 3K views . 4 min read
 

 Article
Top 10 Best Gym Equipment Brands in India 2018

Body fitness is one thing that everyone wants to maintain irrespective of age. Going to the gym and doing some great exercise always helps to maintain your body fit...

Recently posted . 3K views . 2 min read
 

 
 

More in Global

 Article
Chinese Man Who Sold Kidney To Buy iPhone, iPad Now Bedridden

The man suffered renal failure in his second kidney after having one removed. It is said that it was due to the unsanitary conditions where the surgery took place...

Recently posted. 706 views . 1 min read
 

 Article
From German machine guns to food to sex, US veterans recount World War II 75 years later

US World War II veterans say that they want everyone to remember what happened back then, so that it doesn't happen again.  

Recently posted. 613 views . 1 min read
 

 Article
Jeff Bezos vs Mukesh Ambani is the bout that had to happen

The battle for the Indian consumer was never going to be an all-American affair.   

Recently posted. 727 views . 0 min read
 

 Photo
Fantastic HDR Pictures



Recently posted . 1K views
 

 Reviews
Leaseweb hosting review



Recently posted . 1K views . 67 min read
 

 Article
Household Items You Never Knew Had Expiration Dates

When we go shopping for groceries, the first thing we usually do is check the expiration dates on the products we buy. However, there are certain items in our homes...

Recently posted. 831 views . 2 min read
 

 Article
Scientists working with Google just published the most detailed brain scans ever created

Google and its partners at the Janelia Research Campus today released the largest, most detailed set of brain scans ever published. The project encompasses nearly o...

Recently posted. 693 views . 2 min read
 

 
 
 

   Prashnavali

  Thought of the Day

Live in such a way, that if your children are ever asked for the definition of kindness, love, mentor, integrity & loyalty, they answer ”My Parents”..Good Morning
Anonymous

Be the first one to comment on this story

Close
Post Comment
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST


ads
Back To Top