Two NASA astronauts, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, successfully landed on the Gulf of Mexico in historic first ‘splashdown’ in more than four decades!
For the first time in 63 days, Behnken and Hurley stepped foot on Earth and the moment became the first US water landing since the Apollo moon mission in 1975.
“It’s truly our honor and privilege,” Hurley said as they arrived.
SpaceX mission control then responded with: “On behalf of the SpaceX and NASA teams, welcome back to Planet Earth. Thanks for flying SpaceX.”
The Crew Dragon spaceship was launched into the cosmos on a Falcon 9 rocket in May.
“You actually see the light from the atmosphere as it heats up the external portions of the spacecraft,” Behnken said as he described how beautiful it was to watch from the inside.
“You see some orange lights flickering the plasma as it kinda goes past the windows… The vehicle’s going through something pretty severe – and we’ll be hoping it takes care of us as it takes us through entry.”
The mission marks a new era for spaceflight. NASA will outsource such operations, which will help save billions and get people to the Moon and Mars.
“We’re going to go to the Moon, we’re going to have a base on the Moon; we’re going to Mars,” SpaceX founder Elon Must said. “I’m not very religious but I prayed for this one.”
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine previously said: “We don’t want to purchase, own and operate the hardware the way we used to.
“We want to be one customer of many customers in a very robust commercial marketplace in low-Earth orbit. But we also want to have numerous providers that are competing against each other on cost and innovation and safety, and really create this virtuous cycle of economic development and capability.”
NASA shared the historic moment on Twitter, writing: “@AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug have been lifted out of the water and are aboard the Go Navigator.
“Welcome home. #LaunchAmerica.”
.@AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug have been lifted out of the water and are aboard the Go Navigator. Welcome home. #LaunchAmerica pic.twitter.com/gjqUcLMy8X
— NASA (@NASA) August 2, 2020
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Replaced!