SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has returned to Earth months after the first crewed launch from U.S. soil in nearly a decade.
The spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, departed from the International Space Station, where it docked in late May, on Saturday and landed in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday afternoon. The splashdown off the coast of Florida marked the first water landing since 1975 when crews were still flying to and from orbit in the Apollo modules used for missions to the moon.
With Tropical Storm Isaias barreling toward Florida, concerns arose that the landing may have to be delayed. Therefore, NASA predetermined seven potential splashdown sites to the west of the state where the wind and waves appeared calm enough for the splashdown.
The launch of the Crew Dragon was the fruition of a partnership between SpaceX and NASA. The last time NASA astronauts departed U.S. soil for the International Space Station was in 2011 before the agency’s space shuttles were retired.
Although SpaceX became the first private company commissioned by NASA to send a rocket into orbit, Chicago-based jetliner Boeing will join the new space race next year when it plans to launch its CST-100 Starliner with astronauts on board.
