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HomeTech/ScienceNASA plans Gulf of Mexico Splashdown for SpaceX Demo-2

NASA plans Gulf of Mexico Splashdown for SpaceX Demo-2

NASA - National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationWashington, D.C. – Following a scheduled assessment of weather conditions for splashdown, teams from NASA and SpaceX are proceeding with preparations to bring NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley home to Earth aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour” spacecraft.

Conditions are “Go” at the primary targeted site, off the coast Pensacola, and alternate site off the coast of Panama City in the Gulf of Mexico for splashdown and recovery on Sunday, August 2nd, 2020. Teams will continue to closely monitor Hurricane Isaias and evaluate impacts to the potential splashdown sites.

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. (SpaceX)
NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. (SpaceX)

SpaceX will monitor changes to conditions until 2.5 hours prior to the scheduled undocking, when a determination to proceed with departure will be made.

If conditions are marginal and exceed the accepted criteria, a joint recommendation by SpaceX and NASA will be made whether to proceed with undocking at 6:34pm CT. NASA and SpaceX will make the final decision to proceed after the astronauts are ready inside Crew Dragon just before undocking.

Live coverage of NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 return will begin at 4:15pm and continue through the targeted splashdown at 1:41pm on Sunday, the first return of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft carrying astronauts from the space station. It will wrap up NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight after more than two months at the International Space Station.

Hurley and Behnken arrived at the orbiting laboratory in the Crew Dragon May 31st following a launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30th. This is SpaceX’s final test flight and is providing data on the performance of the Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon spacecraft and ground systems, as well as in-orbit, docking, splashdown, and recovery operations.

More details about the return can be found in the Top 10 Things to Know for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Return.

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found in the press kit online and by following the commercial crew blog@commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

Learn more about station activities by following?@space_station?and @ISS_Research? on Twitter as well as the?ISS Facebook?and?ISS Instagram?accounts.

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