A NEW FRONTIER IN SPACE TRAVEL
Capsule returns from space with no surprises
With the successful return of Nasa astronauts Bob and Doug from the ISS on board the private spacecraft SpaceX Dragon, a new frontier opens up for transportation of people to space. Are moon and Mars the next destinations? |
They’re home. Nasa astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley completed a fiery, high-speed journey back from the International Space Station on Sunday, splashing down in calm Gulf of Mexico waters off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, hundreds of miles from a churning Tropical Storm Isaias in the Atlantic in a triumphal denouement to a historic mission.
It was the first time in the 59-year history of crewed American space travel that astronauts had used the Gulf of Mexico as a landing site, adding to other firsts that marked a new chapter in NASA’s human space flight programme: the first launch of American astronauts to orbit from US soil since the space shuttle was retired in 2011 and the first launch into orbit of humans on vehicles owned and operated by a private company.
“Today we really made history. We are entering a new era of human space flight,” Nasa Administrator Jim Bridenstine said at a news conference after the two astronauts emerged from the capsule.
Extraordinary mission
Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, the private company that engineered the flight, called it “an extraordinary mission.” “This is really just the beginning,” she said. “We are starting the journey of bringing people regularly to and from low Earth orbit, then onto the moon and then ultimately onto Mars.” For days, Nasa and SpaceX had kept a close eye on Isaias as it developed from tropical storm to hurricane and back again to tropical storm. But they always held the possibility of a Gulf of Mexico landing in their pocket should the weather in the Atlantic prove unfavourable. Nasa and SpaceX had designated seven potential landing targets, four of them in the Gulf of Mexico, and SpaceX had positioned recovery craft in both locations for any eventuality.
Final milestone
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft floated under a quartet of parachutes and splashed down at 2:48pm Eastern time, exactly on time, marking the first time Nasa astronauts had landed at sea since Apollo-Soyuz, the joint US-Soviet mission in 1975.
“On behalf of the SpaceX and Nasa teams, welcome home and thanks for flying SpaceX,” mission control radioed to the spacecraft after it landed.
“It’s truly our honour and privilege,” Hurley responded. “On behalf of the Dragon Endeavour, congrats to Nasa and SpaceX.”
The mission — the final milestone in a rigorous test programme years in the making — was celebrated as a victory for Nasa and its decision under President Barack Obama to entrust the private sector with the lives of its astronauts. And it served as a rare bright spot in a year full of turmoil and devastation, from the deadly coronavirus pandemic to the social unrest in the wake of George Floyd’s death to the clashes between protesters and authorities in cities from Portland, Oregon, to Richmond, Virginia.
Triumphant moment
Instead of scenes of exhausted hospital workers, smoke-filled streets, and mounting death tolls from a virus that continues to spread, here were a pair of astronauts, smiling and giving a thumbsup as flight technicians helped them from their spacecraft in a scene reminiscent of the early days of the space programme. And it came days after another triumphant moment for Nasa, the launch of the Mars Perseverance rover, which is expected to reach the Red Planet in February.
Shortly after the May 30 launch of the astronauts into orbit, SpaceX founder Elon Musk grew emotional as he talked about the responsibility of getting the astronauts, both fathers to young boys, back to their families safely.
To make it home, the spacecraft undocked from the space station at 7:35pm Eastern time on Saturday evening while it was orbiting Earth at 17,500mph, or more than 22 times the speed of sound. On Sunday, about an hour before splashdown, it fired its engines for one final burn that began its descent home. As it plunged into the thickening atmosphere, the friction generated enormous heat, temperatures as high as 3,500 degrees. The capsule, named Endeavour by its crew in homage to the space shuttle of the same name, appeared to weather the trip home successfully, scorch marks and all. The heat shield withstood temperatures that left the once-bright-white capsule looking like a toasted marshmallow.
Nasa and SpaceX said they took extra precautions because of the coronavirus pandemic. The crews on the ship were tested and quarantined, and everyone was to be wearing masks.
“Thank you for doing the most important parts and most difficult parts of human space flight, sending us into orbit and bringing us home safely,” said Behnken.
This is really just the beginning. We are starting the journey of bringing people regularly to and from low Earth orbit, then onto the moon and then ultimately onto Mars.”
Gwynne Shotwell
| President and COO, SpaceX