SpaceX Manned Spacecraft Returns on the 2nd... Nighttime Splashdown Attempt After 53 Years

[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The manned spacecraft of the American space exploration company SpaceX is returning to Earth carrying four astronauts who have been staying at the International Space Station (ISS).

SpaceX's manned spacecraft, Crew Dragon, is scheduled to attempt a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida at 2:57 a.m. Eastern Time on the 2nd, according to reports by CNN and AP on the 1st (local time).

This will be the second Earth return of a SpaceX manned spacecraft. In August last year, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken successfully returned to Earth by sea after arriving at the space station aboard Crew Dragon.

SpaceX will attempt a sea landing again this time, but unlike the previous mission, Crew Dragon will deploy its parachutes and land at night.

This will be the first time in 53 years since Apollo 8's return in 1968 that a manned spacecraft in the U.S. attempts a nighttime splashdown.

NASA's Johnson Space Center stated that SpaceX has conducted numerous rehearsals for the nighttime splashdown and is confident of success. SpaceX completed a nighttime sea return mission with a cargo spacecraft in January.

The manned spacecraft returning to Earth this time carries four astronauts: NASA's Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Soichi Noguchi.

They arrived at the space station aboard Crew Dragon in November last year and set the longest space stay record in U.S. space exploration history. On the 1st at 8:30 p.m., they will depart the space station aboard Crew Dragon and fly for nearly 6 hours and 30 minutes to return to Earth.

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