Sunday, August 2, 2020

"Retro-style" - astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico this afternoon









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Two NASA astronauts returned to Earth on Sunday in a dramatic, retro-style splashdown, their capsule parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico to close out an unprecedented test flight by Elon Musk's SpaceX company.⁣ ⁣ It was the first splashdown by U.S. astronauts in 45 years, with the first commercially built and operated spacecraft to carry people to and from orbit. ⁣ ⁣ Test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken arrived back on Earth in their SpaceX Dragon capsule named Endeavour, less than a day after departing the International Space Station and two months after blasting off from Florida. ⁣ ⁣ “It’s a little bit overwhelming to see everybody here considering the things that have gone on the last few months since we’ve been off planet," Hurley said after arriving back home in Houston Sunday evening where they were greeted by a small masked-gathering of family and officials, including Musk.⁣ ⁣ Musk had rushed to Houston from SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, to welcome them. He was clearly moved — and relieved — while addressing the group.⁣ ⁣ “I’m not very religious, but I prayed for this one,” he said.⁣ ⁣ Go to the link in our bio for more on this story.

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