The Return of SpaceX Dragon Capsule

NATIONAL

SpaceX's Dragon Capsule Returns in a Historic Night Time Splashdown

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PANAMA CITY— Following days of weather delays, Dragon and the Crew-1 astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glove, Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi safely returned to Earth Sunday. The Dragon's 167 days in space marks the longest mission for a US spacecraft since 1974. The nearly six-month mission ended in a rare nighttime splashdown when SpaceX Dragon Resilience made its 6- parachute return splashing into the Gulf of Mexico just before 3AM.

“We welcome you back to planet Earth and thanks for flying SpaceX,” SpaceX’s Mission Control radioed moments after splashdown. “For those of you enrolled in our frequent flyer program, you’ve earned 68 million miles on this voyage.”

The return came on the heels of weather delays preventing the crew's departure from the International Space Station by days. After weather conditions improved, the third attempt proved to be the charm and Dragon was cleared for it's 8:35PM departure back home.

During the Dragon's 6-hour journey back, SpaceX retrieval crews prepared for the astronaut's return, stationing off the coasts of both Panama City and Tampa. Favorable weather conditions gave way for a soft water landing in the primary landing area off of Panama City's coastline. The Dragon's return is the first nighttime splashdown of a US spacecraft carrying a crew since NASA's 1968 Apollo 8 moonshot. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter confirming Dragon's separation from the space station and historic return to Earth as NASA live-streamed the event.

The safe return of the Dragon crew and capsule is just one of Musk's out-of-this-world successes this year. Lisa Watson-Morgan, Program Manager of NASA's Human Landing System announced last month that SpaceX was chosen over competitors Blue Origin and Dynetics to develop NASA's Human Landing System under the Artemis program.

"NASA has chosen SpaceX to return us to the moon," Watson-Morgan said, "I am so excited to partner with SpaceX in this fantastic endeavor for the Artemis Suite of Missions"

The $2.89 billion dollar contract cements NASA's and SpaceX's goal of landing the next two Americans on the lunar surface by 2024. The first of 3 Artemis missions are slated to launch later this year.

Keith Parnell

Digital Content Producer

|Simi Valley, CA

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