CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - SpaceX's swanky new crew capsule has returned to Earth, ending its first test flight with an old-fashioned splashdown.
The Dragon undocked from the International Space Station early Friday. Six hours later, the capsule carrying a test dummy plopped into the Atlantic off the Florida coast.
It marks the first time in 50 years that a capsule designed for astronauts returned from space by plopping into the Atlantic. Apollo 9 splashed down near the Bahamas on March 13, 1969.
NASA astronauts have been stuck riding Russian rockets since space shuttles retired eight years ago. NASA is counting on SpaceX and Boeing to start launching astronauts this year.
Friday morning's splashdown was the final hurdle of SpaceX's six-day test flight.
(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - SpaceX's swanky new crew capsule has undocked from the International Space Station and is headed toward an old-fashioned splashdown.
The Dragon capsule pulled away from the orbiting lab early Friday, a test dummy named Ripley its lone occupant. It's aiming for a morning splashdown in the Atlantic off Florida's coast, the final hurdle of the six-day test flight. Saturday's launch and Sunday's docking were spot on.
Canadian station astronaut David Saint-Jacques was the first to enter the Dragon when it arrived and the last to leave. He found the capsule "very slick" and called it business class.
NASA astronauts have been stuck riding Russian rockets since space shuttles retired eight years ago. NASA is counting on SpaceX and Boeing to start launching astronauts this year. SpaceX is shooting for summer.
(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
