By Brayden Yin
Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley splashed down miles from the coast of Pensacola on August 3. Their mission: test drive of the Crew Dragon, the ship by SpaceX that they were flying.. As Behnken and Hurley made their splashdown, Mission Control sent them a message: “Welcome back to Planet Earth and thanks for flying SpaceX.” Their capsule, Endeavour, was burned and scorched on entry to the atmosphere… on the outside.
To keep Behnken and Hurley safe, the recovery crew quarantined for 2 weeks and got tested for coronavirus. The astronauts were delayed for coming out of the capsule, due to the presence of toxic gases outside the capsule. After medical checks, Behnken and Hurley were flown to Pensacola, and then to Houston.
There was one problem that could have endangered the splashdown: once Endeavour was in the water, private boats “made a beeline for it” and got too close. A NASA video showed one boat flying a Trump flag.
Boeing is another company launching manned spacecraft. SpaceX beat Boeing by about a year in this second space race. By beating Boeing, SpaceX laid claim to a US flag left at the ISS by Hurley and Behnken.
The SpaceX capsule will be refurbished and launched again in spring, but the importance of the launch and landing is the fact that it is the first splashdown in 45 years.
Sources: