Trump congratulates NASA, SpaceX on successful mission as US astronauts return safely

As SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule successfully splashed down in the ocean off the coast of Florida, US President Donald Trump congratulated the team on the success of the two months-long mission. While taking to Twitter, Trump called the mission ‘very successful’ and informed that the astronauts completed the first splashdown in 45 years. 

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After spending 63-days at the International Space Station (ISS), the two US astronauts, Bob Behnken and Douglas Hurley returned to Earth on August 3. Behnken and Hurley made history when they became the first people to be launched into low-Earth orbit on a commercial spacecraft built by SpaceX. The mission, Demo-2, also marked the first time NASA had launched astronauts from US soil in nine years.

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Historic moment 

Behnken’s and Hurley’s capsule landed in the water at 12:18 am IST. The sight of the capsule’s four main parachutes floating down over the Gulf of Mexico was confirmation that the spacecraft survived the descent through the atmosphere. The US President also shared a video of the touchdown and called it an ‘exciting’ moment. 

The Crew Dragon capsule blasted off from Kennedy Space Center's historic Launch Pad 39A on May 30 at 12:52 am IST to the International Space Station from the American turf. The splashdown marked the return of the first commercially built and operated American spacecraft carrying astronauts from the space station, wrapping up NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission. 

(Image Credits: AP) 

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