A conclusion to a historic trip!
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft — carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley — is touched down earlier today in the Gulf of Mexico.
A two-month historic trip has concluded and it’s already paving the way for the United States to reclaim space dominance.
The astronauts have been aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Dragon Endeavour, since Saturday evening when it undocked from the International Space Station.
The two-month trip to the ISS launched in May. It was the first time NASA astronauts launched from US soil since 2011.
It was also the first commercially developed spacecraft carrying humans to launch into orbit.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., trading as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California.
It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs to enable the colonization of Mars.
Adding some complexities to the landing was the harsh weather conditions produced by Tropical Storm Isaias, but thankfully it proved to not be an obstacle.
NASA and SpaceX predetermined seven potential splashdown sites for this mission, four of which are to the west of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico: Pensacola, Tampa, Tallahassee and Panama City.
Ultimately, the crew splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Fla
The crew opened its hatch after a hangup caused by wayward fumes given off by propellant and Behnken and Hurley took their first steps into Earth’s gravity after spending two months in the zero-G environment of space.
You can read more information about SpaceX on their official website: https://www.spacex.com/
