SpaceX Flies Astronauts Home, Capping First Regular NASA Mission

Elon Musk’s SpaceX returned four astronauts to Earth to conclude its first regular crew mission to the International Space Station, cementing its status as NASA’s only commercial partner so far capable of carrying people.

For the latest trip home from the space station, the crew undocked the Dragon, which they dubbed “Resilience,” around 9 p.m., a time that was selected based on the weather forecast on Earth. During the flight after reentering the Earth’s atmosphere the capsule faced temperatures of as high as 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,927 degrees Celsius)

The Coast Guard imposed a two-mile safety zone around the splashdown area. In the return of the August test flight, a flotilla of weekend boaters sailed up to gawk at the spacecraft. NASA said the close proximity was a safety hazard because of the toxic propellants carried by the capsule.

Crew-1 successful return bolsters SpaceX’s burgeoning role in NASA’s human spaceflight activities. NASA also selected SpaceX in April to devise a human lunar-landing system with the company’s futuristic Starship. That award is under protest by other bidders.

Boeing is developing a second spacecraft for NASA’s commercial crew program, the CST-100 Starliner, which has been beset by delays and a botched test flight last year with no astronauts aboard. Boeing hopes to fly a second Starliner test without people as soon as August.






Source: Bloomberg
Image Source: Getty Images