The News of Us
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Science and Technology
  • Health
  • Subscribe Us
No Result
View All Result
The News of Us
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Science and Technology
  • Health
  • Subscribe Us
No Result
View All Result
The News of Us
No Result
View All Result

SpaceX making 1st US crew splashdown in dark since Apollo 8

SpaceX this weekend will attempt the first U.S. splashdown of returning astronauts in darkness since the Apollo 8 moonshot in 1968.

Elon Musk’s company is targeting the predawn hours of Sunday to bring back three NASA astronauts and one from Japan, after dangerously high wind scuttled a pair of earlier attempts.

The astronauts—only the second crew to fly SpaceX—will depart the International Space Station on Saturday night aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule that carried them up last November. They’ll aim for a splashdown 6 1/2 hours later, around 3 a.m. in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida.

SpaceX brought back a station cargo capsule with a splashdown in darkness in January. That adds to NASA’s confidence for a nighttime homecoming, said Rob Navias, a spokesman at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“SpaceX has done numerous dress rehearsals and spent a lot of time with nighttime recoveries,” he said.

Navias said the time slot provided the best weather conditions in the coming days.

The capsule carrying Apollo 8’s three astronauts—the first men to fly to the moon—splashed into the Pacific near Hawaii before dawn on Dec. 27, 1968.

The Russians also had one crew splashdown in darkness, back in 1976. The two-man capsule could not dock to the Soviet Union’s Salyut 5 space station as intended and had to make a hasty return, ending up in a partially frozen lake in Kazakhstan—in the middle of a blizzard. It took hours for recovery teams to rescue the cosmonauts.

Even with the early hour, the Coast Guard promises to have more patrols to keep sightseers at a safe distance. On a Sunday afternoon last August, pleasure boaters swarmed the capsule that parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico with the first SpaceX crew.

The departure of NASA’s Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi will leave seven aboard the space station. Their replacements—representing the U.S., Japan and France—arrived last weekend in their own SpaceX capsule for a six-month mission. The three remaining crew members—one American and two Russians—launched in a Russian capsule from Kazakhstan three weeks ago.

[Read More…]

Previous Post

U.S. Senator Collins defends Romney, Cheney from Republican attacks

Next Post

Factbox-Canadian banks’ approaches to getting to ‘net-zero financing emissions’ by 2050

Related Posts

Science and Technology

Ferrari’s ‘last’ V8 supercar is apparently sold out

Science and Technology

Apps with hidden data-harvesting software are banned by Google

Science and Technology

‘Happier’ Billie Eilish is a Grammys rock star in a Taylor Hawkins T-shirt

Science and Technology

EU proposes rules that discourage fast fashion culture: ‘Longer-lasting products’

Science and Technology

Amy Schumer drags Leonardo DiCaprio for dating younger women at Oscars 2022

Science and Technology

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reaches alignment milestone, shares stunning view of cosmos

Next Post

Factbox-Canadian banks' approaches to getting to 'net-zero financing emissions' by 2050

Follow us for latest Business News | Political News | Science & Technology News | Health News.

Subscribe Us

By clicking subscribe, I authorize: (1) The News Of Us to use and share my information in accordance with its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and (2) The News Of Us or third-party companies, including The News Of Us’s business partners, to contact me by email with offers for goods and services at the email address provided. Please note that the information you have provided to us may be supplemented with additional information obtained from other sources.
Loading

© 2021 The News of Us, - All Rights Reserved.

  • Subscribe Us
  • Contact Us
  • Unsubscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Service
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Science and Technology
  • Health
  • Subscribe Us

© 2021 The News of Us, - All Rights Reserved.