Nasa SpaceX crew return: Dragon capsule splashes down
3 August 2020
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The successful end to the crew's mission initiates a new era for the American space agency.
All its human transport needs just above the Earth will in future be purchased from private companies, such as SpaceX.
The government agency says contracting out to service providers in this way will save it billions of dollars that can be diverted to getting astronauts to the Moon, as part of its Artemis programme, and afterwards to Mars.
The Dragon capsule launched to the space station at the end of May on a Falcon 9 rocket, also supplied by SpaceX.
Hurley's and Behnken's mission served as an end-to-end demonstration of the astronaut "taxi service" the company, owned by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, will be selling to Nasa from now on.
The Boeing corporation is also developing a crew capsule solution but has had to delay its introduction after encountering software problems on its Starliner vehicle.
Image copyright NASA/Bill Ingalls
The sight of the vehicle's four main parachutes floating down over the Gulf of Mexico was confirmation the spacecraft had survived its fiery descent through the atmosphere.
The parachutes then slowed the capsule from about 350mph (560km/h) to just roughly 15mph (7m/s) at splashdown.
Image copyright NASA/Bill Ingalls
Rigging was used to hoist the capsule out of the water and on to the recovery vessel. Technicians monitored "remnant vapours" around the spacecraft before the hatch was opened.
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