The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule is back from a trip to the Space Station in an American effort to put people back in space without using Russian technology….
It’s a move backwards from the space ship travel that was done in the American NASA shuttle’s….
But it’s an effort to use private means to get back in space for America …..
Star Trek Galaxy space class cruiser ‘s are a LONG way off…..
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday morning and was picked up a little more than an hour later by a recovery ship, marking the last major milestone of a NASA test mission and precursor to future human spaceflights.
The hatch of the capsule, which did not have a crew aboard, closed on Thursday at 12:39 p.m. EST. The capsule then undocked from the International Space Station at 2:32 a.m. Friday after a five-day stay. About five hours later, after a 15-minute de-orbit burn, the Crew Dragon capsule floated down into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida at 8:45 a.m. EST, buoyed first by two drogue parachutes and then by four main parachutes.
Two boats were nearby as the capsule touched down in the water to complete safety checks on the vehicle. SpaceX’s Go Searcher recovery ship, which is equipped with a helipad and medical treatment facility, lifted the Crew Dragon out of the water around 9:50 a.m. EST.
Shane Kimbrough, a former NASA astronaut who now leads various NASA recovery teams, said on a livestream of the landing that in the future, there will be less time between when the capsule splashes down and when it is picked up.
Elon Musk-led SpaceX is required to get the capsule — and on later flights, the crew — out of the water less than an hour after splashing down, according to NASA…..