WASHINGTON, July 18th. / TASS /. The unloading of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon from the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled for August 1, a shower of the ship’s crew should take place on August 2, according to NASAJames Bridenstine Administrator.
“NEWS: We’re aiming to leave August 1 of the Dragon Endeavor SpaceX spacecraft from the Space Station to take it [Bob] Behnken and Doug [Hurley] home after the historic tour…. Rainfall is targeted for August 2. The weather dictates the date itself. Keep an eye on it, “Bridenstine wrote on Twitter.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft launched Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken aboard the ISS on May 31. The Falcon 9 launch vehicle with the Crew Dragon was successfully launched on May 30 from the Cape Canaveral, Florida spaceport. Dragon Crew is an arrangement of the Dragon spacecraft cargo, which had already delivered cargo to the ISS.
This announcement marks the first flight in nine years from the United States using a U.S. spacecraft. NASA suspended crew flights in 2011 after the Space Shuttle program ended. After that all the astronauts were taken to the ISS and back by the Soyuz spacecraft from Russia. It was originally thought that U.S. commercial vessels would begin flights in 2017.