NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken ‘splashed down’ in the Gulf of Mexico, south of Pensacola on Florida’s Gulf coast, carried by SpaceX’s Dragon Capsule. They returned from the International Space Station, on the first-ever commercially made and operated aircraft. This could potentially pave the way for another SpaceX launch as early as next year. This mission is not just a new space venture by NASA, but also a trial of a new business model
This new business model is based on the fact that NASA will no longer own the vehicles it uses but will merely purchase the “taxi” service offered by SpaceX henceforth. This comes after the retirement of shuttles by the space agency nine years ago.
This is also the first crewed water landing by NASA, post which a recovery boat had rescued the astronauts who had landed in the Gulf of Mexico by means of a parachute. There were many private boats which came close to the Dragon were asked to leave amid concern over hazardous chemicals venting from the capsule’s propulsion system. NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said the presence of the boats “was not what we were anticipating”. “What is not common is having passersby approach the vehicle close range with nitrogen tetroxide in the atmosphere; that’s not something that is good,” he said.
It wasn't just the long lens. The private boats were damn close to Dragon in the water. pic.twitter.com/XROoNoHpqs
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) August 3, 2020
"No matter where you are on planet Earth, this is a good thing."@SpaceX CEO @ElonMusk reflects on the success of the #LaunchAmerica mission and what it means for commercial space capability: pic.twitter.com/qYjBRd2GPO
— NASA (@NASA) August 3, 2020
SpaceX is to launch the next mission after a 6-week inspection, around September this year, which will spend six months on the space station.