![]() And this is the result of an incredible amount of work from people at SpaceX people at NASA.”Īs already noted, this mission was also the first time US astronauts splashed down in decades – the last time being July 24th, 1975. This day heralds a new age of space exploration. “What this heralds is a fundamentally a new era in spaceflight, a new era in space exploration, where we’re going to go the Moon, we’re going to have a base on the Moon, we’re going to send people to Mars, and make life multi-planetary. Addressing the implications this successful spaceflight would have, he said: Musk also spoke during the event and appeared visibly relieved that Benhken and Hurley made it safely back. The entire event was broadcast live on NASA Television and can be seen again by going to the agency’s NASA Live website. During the course of the ceremony, Behnken and Hurley answered questions and discussed their recently completed mission. Partners are key to how we go farther than ever before and take the next steps on daring missions to the Moon and Mars.”Īlso on hand was SpaceX’s Chief Engineer Elon Musk and Mark Geye, the Director of the NASA Johnson Space Center. It’s a testament to what we can accomplish when we work together to do something once thought impossible. “Welcome home, Bob and Doug! Congratulations to the NASA and SpaceX teams for the incredible work to make this test flight possible. After returning to Florida, they were flown to the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston where their families and special guests were waiting for them as part of a welcome home ceremony.Īmong the many people welcoming them home was NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who said the following in a NASA press release: Crew: NASAĪfter a total of 64 days in orbit, 62 of which were spent aboard the ISS, Behnken and Hurley boarded the Endeavour again on Aug. The Falcon 9 carrying astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the ISS as part of the Demo-2 mission. By May 31st, after nineteen hours in space, the two astronauts rendezvoused with the ISS’ Harmony Module and joined the crew of Expedition 63 on board. ![]() Shortly after reaching orbit, astronauts Robert and Douglas named their spacecraft Endeavour in honor of the first Space Shuttle each had flown aboard. The Demo-2 flight launched from Space Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30th. After splashing down off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, the Endeavour was recovered by the SpaceX recovery ship “Go Navigator” and Behnken and Hurley were assisted onto the deck. Last, but not least, it was the first time a commercially-built vehicle transported astronauts to space and returned them safely. It was also the first time in over forty-five years that American astronauts returned to Earth by splashing down at sea. ![]() For the first time in almost ten years, astronauts bound for the ISS had been launched from American soil – effectively restoring domestic launch capability to the US. This brought their historic mission ( Demo-2) to a close and marked the beginning of a new era in space exploration. On Sunday, August 2nd, astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley splashed down with their Crew Dragon spacecraft ( Endeavour) in the Gulf of Mexico.
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