Boats mob capsule after splashdown

Nasa says it will need to do a better job in future of averting one unexpected offshoot of Sunday’s historic splashdown of astronauts – a rush of private boats which came too close to the spacecraft.

Several private boats were observed circling the area as Nasa astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley successfully splashed down off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico.

The pair landed in the ocean near Pensacola in western Florida on Sunday evening, after a 19-hour journey.

Boaters appeared to sail close to SpaceX’s astronaut carrier, the Crew Dragon, as recovery crews raced to get to the spacecraft.

Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine said the presence of these private boats “was not what we were anticipating”.

At a news conference after the splashdown, he said: “Of course, we wanted to make sure there was a clearing for them to land – the Coastguard did an excellent job of ensuring that.

“And of course after they landed, the boats just came in – we need to do a better job next time for sure.”

Around a dozen private vessels near the splashdown area were asked to leave as they attempted to approach the spacecraft – creating a potentially dangerous situation as the Crew Dragon contains hazardous chemicals, such as hydrazine and nitrogen tetroixde.

Mr Behnken’s and Mr Hurley’s homecoming was the first crewed splashdown in 45 years.

The last time astronauts made an ocean landing was in July 1975 during an Apollo mission.

The duo made history on May 30 when they became the first people to launch into low-Earth orbit on a commercial spacecraft.

Their mission, named Demo-2, marked the first time Nasa had launched astronauts from US soil in nine years.

The splashdown has ushered in a new era for Nasa, which now has at least one commercial spacecraft ready to launch astronauts into space from US soil.

The ocean landing was the final step in the mission designed to test SpaceX’s human spaceflight system – including launch, docking, splashdown and recovery operations.

Picture: AP. Nasa astronaut Douglas Hurley waves to onlookers at Naval Air Station, Pensacola.