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SpaceX Brings NASA Astronauts Home Safe in Milestone Mission

America's first crewed spaceship to travel to the International Space Station in almost ten years returned safely to Earth on Sunday, splashing back in the Gulf of Mexico.

The successful mission, carried out jointly by SpaceX and NASA, has demonstrated that the United States once again has the ability to take its astronauts back to space, reports AFP.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavor splashed into the water near Pensacola, Florida, at 2:48 p.m. (1848 GMT) with the four main parachutes.

It was the first water landing for a crewed US spacecraft since the Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975.

“It’s truly our honor and privilege,” said pilot Doug Hurley, who was joined on the mission by commander Bob Behnken.

“On behalf of the NASA and SpaceX teams, welcome back to planet Earth and thanks for flying SpaceX,” replied SpaceX’s Mike Heiman, to laughter in the control room.

Said SpaceX founder Elon Musk after the astronauts were safely on land: “I’m not very religious but I prayed for this one.”

A number of civilian ships swarmed the landing zone while a retrieval vessel sped alongside the scorched capsule and hoisted it on board with its crane.

The opening of the hatch was momentarily postponed because a crew was trying to avoid a rocket fuel vapor spill.

Around an hour after the collision, the astronauts departed the spacecraft and made for shore on a helicopter.

They were reunited with their family in Houston, where they came off a plane — in seemingly strong physical condition and happy spirits — at a naval base.

Addressing a socially distanced welcome ceremony in a hangar, Behnken praised the SpaceX team behind the successful mission.

“We definitely are old dogs and like some of our old tricks… (but) as we go forward to further activities, whether it’s in lower orbit, to the moon or beyond, we need to figure out the best way to share what NASA knows with a contractor team and help them be as successful as possible.”

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine also hailed collaboration with private companies.

“We are entering a new era of human spaceflight, where NASA is no longer the purchaser, owner and operator of all the hardware,” he told reporters.

“This is really just the beginning: we are starting the journey of bringing people regularly to and from low Earth orbit, on to the Moon, and then ultimately on to Mars,” added Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX.

– Space autonomy –

President Donald Trump — who had travelled to Florida for the capsule’s launch two months ago — hailed its safe return.

“Thank you to all!” he tweeted. “Great to have NASA Astronauts return to Earth after very successful two month mission.”

The United States has had to rely on Russia for rides to space since the last Space Shuttle flew in 2011.

The mission is also a huge win for Musk’s SpaceX, which was founded in only 2002 but has leap-frogged its way past Boeing, its main competitor in the commercial space race.

The US has paid the two companies a total of about $7 billion for their “space taxi” contracts, though aerospace giant Boeing’s efforts have badly floundered.

– Atmospheric re-entry –

The Crew Dragon capsule performed several precisely choreographed sequences in order to return home safely.

First, it jettisoned its “trunk” that contains its power, heat and other systems, which burned up in the atmosphere.

Endeavour then fired its thrusters to maneuver itself into the proper orbit and trajectory for splashdown.

As it re-entered the atmosphere at a level of around 17,500 mph (28,000 kph), it encountered temperatures of around 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1900 degrees Celsius).

It used two sets of parachutes on its descent, taking its height down to a meager 15 mph when it reached the Gulf of Mexico.

– Crew-1 –

The Endeavour’s return marks only the beginning for the Crew Dragon as SpaceX and NASA look ahead to future missions.

Endeavor will now undertake a six-week review to ensure that the spacecraft is capable of potential low-earth orbit flights.

The next project — the so-called "Crew-1"—will include a team of four: three NASA astronauts along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency flight expert Soichi Noguchi.

Take-off is set for late September, and the crew are due to spend six months on the space station.

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