Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, members of SpaceX's first-ever crewed mission to the ISS, will return to Earth on August 2. Landing is planned in the Atlantic.
On May 30, SpaceX propelled astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station (ISS). A historic takeoff for two reasons. It was, on the one hand, the first crewed mission to leave American soil since 2011. On the other hand, the flight took place aboard an American capsule designed and built by a private company. A first.
If the Demo-2 mission is a success for the moment, it should be remembered that SpaceX has only made it halfway. Indeed, it is now a question of bringing the two astronauts safely back to Earth.
So far, no date has actually been determined. This Friday, NASA and SpaceX finally agreed on the schedule.
Next August 1, the capsule will detach from the station . The ship will then have to slowly extricate itself from the sphere close to the ISS, before proceeding with the first orbital maneuvers. The descent should normally take a day.
Shortly before entering Earth's atmosphere, the two astronauts will release the "trunk" of the capsule. As a reminder, this is the cylindrical module intended to transport the various payloads. It is also on half of this "trunk" that SpaceX decided to line the various solar panels of the capsule.
The ship will then enter Earth's atmosphere at a speed of about 27,000 km/h . The friction of the particles will considerably slow down the fall, while heating the outer shell of the capsule to temperatures almost as hot as the sun. To protect themselves, the astronauts will benefit from a heat shield .
Once this fiery re-entry phase is complete, the ship will deploy its four Mark 3 parachutes , which will slow the vehicle down enough to ensure a smooth landing in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida. This operation should normally take place August 2 .
A recovery team will then stand nearby in order to quickly get the two astronauts out of the capsule. It will also be pulled from the water before being brought back to Cape Canaveral aboard SpaceX's GO Navigator ship.
Obviously, as lead admin Jim Bridenstine points out from NASA, these dates are not set in stone. Everything will depend on the weather . It is also the weather, we remember, which had already delayed the departure of the two astronauts last May.
Once this Demo-2 test mission is complete, SpaceX will then be ready to launch the first of these contracted flights. This mission, known as Crew-1 , is scheduled to take off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida August 30 .
