Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley strapped into Team Dragon prior to the launch scrub May 27.
SpaceX.
The SpaceX Team Dragon Demo-2 mission has been smooth sailing so far for NASA’s Industrial Team Program
Team Dragon effectively undocked from the ISS at 4: 35 p.m. PT on Saturday.
Splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico is on schedule for 11: 48 a.m. PT.
NASA and SpaceX are intending on a water landing off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, on Sunday while continuing to keep an eye on any effect from Typhoon Isaias.
This will be the very first team recovery at sea of NASA astronauts considering that 1975 at the end of the Apollo moon expedition era, the area firm tweeted on Sunday
A post-splashdown news conference is set for 1: 30 p.m. PT on NASA TV.
The reentry process is significant.
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A SpaceX recovery vessel will satisfy Team Dragon (which the astronauts called Endeavour) to gather the spacecraft and parachutes from the water. Endeavour will be hoisted onto the ship and Behnken and Hurley will be welcomed by a medical team.
There’s a lot riding on a safe, uneventful return for Crew Dragon. “This is SpaceX’s last test flight and is offering information on the efficiency of the Falcon 9 rocket, Team Dragon spacecraft and ground systems, along with in-orbit, docking, splashdown and recovery operations,” NASA stated in a release
If Crew Dragon passes these final tests, then SpaceX will have the ability to provide regular, functional flights to the ISS beginning later this year And it would end NASA’s reliance on Russian spacecraft for the very first time because the shuttle era.