The Astronauts SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule Are Returning To Earth : NPR
NASA astronauts (from left) Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley and Chris Cassidy are the U.S. members of the Expedition 63 crew aboard the Worldwide Area Station. Behnken and Hurley are scheduled to return to Earth on Aug. 2.
NASA
disguise caption
toggle caption
NASA
NASA astronauts (from left) Bob Behnken, Doug Hurley and Chris Cassidy are the U.S. members of the Expedition 63 crew aboard the Worldwide Area Station. Behnken and Hurley are scheduled to return to Earth on Aug. 2.
NASA
The 2 astronauts that blasted off within the first non-public house automobile to take individuals to the Worldwide Area Station are about to return to Earth — by splashing down within the waters round Florida.
This would be the first deliberate splashdown for house vacationers since 1975, though a Russian Soyuz capsule did must do an emergency lake touchdown in 1976.
NASA astronaut Douglas Hurley says that he and his crewmate Robert Behnken are ready for the potential of seasickness.
“Similar to on an airliner, there are baggage in the event you want them. And we’ll have these helpful,” Hurley stated in a press convention held on Friday, whereas on board the station. “And if that should occur, it definitely would not be the primary time that that is occurred in an area automobile. It will likely be the primary time on this explicit automobile, if we do.”
The astronauts will come dwelling in the identical SpaceX Dragon capsule that took them up on Could 30. Their flight marked the primary time individuals had been launched to orbit from U. S. soil since NASA retired its house shuttles in 2011.
The success of their journey within the SpaceX automobile has been a serious milestone for industrial house journey, and a vindication of NASA’s long-term plan to depend on house taxis for routine flights to and from the orbiting outpost—whereas the federal government company focuses on growing automobiles for a return to the moon.
The present plan is for the Dragon “Endeavour” capsule to undock from the Worldwide Area Station on Saturday at 7:34 p.m. ET, with scheduled splashdown at 2:42 p.m. ET on Sunday. There are potential splashdown zones each within the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. With a hurricane headed in the direction of Florida, nonetheless, it is unclear if the climate will cooperate with the plan.
“We’ve got confidence that the groups on the bottom are, in fact, watching that rather more carefully than we’re,” stated Behnken. “And we can’t depart the house station with out some good touchdown alternatives in entrance of us, good splashdown climate in entrance of us.”
He stated the astronauts might all the time keep on the house station longer. “There’s extra chow and I do know the house station program’s obtained extra work that we will do,” stated Behnken.
After the astronauts undock from the station, they’ll stay within the capsule for 24 to 48 hours earlier than splashing down.
Their mission is technically an indication flight—it’s the ultimate check for SpaceX’s crew system to be licensed by NASA as ‘operational’ for future astronaut missions to and from the house station.
Already, NASA has assigned astronauts to future SpaceX Crew Dragon flights—together with Megan McArthur, who occurs to be married to Behnken.
“She’s tremendous excited to be assigned to a SpaceX mission,” says Behnken, who says the factor about his return to Earth that he is trying ahead to essentially the most is seeing his spouse and son.
“My son is six years outdated,” says Behnken, “and I can inform from the movies that I get, and speaking to him on the telephone, that he is modified quite a bit even in simply the couple of months that we have been up right here.”
The post The Astronauts SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule Are Returning To Earth : NPR appeared first on Chop News.
from Chop News https://ift.tt/2Pc4K5w
via Blogger https://ift.tt/3fhLGh3
August 01, 2020 at 05:50AM
Post a Comment