SpaceX Astronauts Who Rode Spacecraft Challenge Return to Earth

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Astronauts who previously succeeded in docking with the International Space Station (ISS) aboard SpaceX's 'Crew Dragon,' the first private manned spacecraft from the United States in May, are now attempting to return to Earth. They are expected to make a splashdown landing in the sea for the first time in 45 years.

On the 1st (local time), NASA announced that astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are scheduled to land in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida on the 2nd aboard the first private spacecraft, 'Crew Dragon.' Hurley and Behnken are known as the astronauts who opened the era of private space exploration by flying to the ISS aboard the United States' first private manned spacecraft, Crew Dragon, in May.

They previously boarded SpaceX's Crew Dragon, founded by Elon Musk, on May 30 and flew into space, spending two months on the ISS completing missions such as spacewalks. This time, they are attempting a splashdown return to the sea for the first time in 45 years. NASA's first designated splashdown candidate site is the waters off Pensacola, Florida, and the second candidate site is near Panama City, Florida.

The so-called 'splashdown,' where American astronauts return via the sea rather than landing on land, is happening for the first time in 45 years. Since the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, a US-Soviet space cooperation program, this is the first splashdown return of NASA astronauts.

The splashdown time has been set for 2:41 PM on the 2nd (local time), according to space science media outlet Space. In Korean time, this corresponds to 3:41 AM on the 3rd.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.