SpaceX's historic crewed mission to end on August 2: NASA official

SpaceX’s first crewed mission, which took off on May 30 is all set to return to planet earth in two weeks.  As per a senior NASA official, the mission which carried astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to International Space Station will return to earth on August 2, if weather permitted.

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'August 2 splashdown'

NASA’s Chief Jim Bridgestone has reportedly announced that the agency was targeting August 2 splashdown in the Atlantic ocean for the Demo 2 test flight. Asserting that the plans were subjected to weather conditions, Bridgestone said that the if things went according to plan, then Behnken and Hurley would depart from the ISS on Aug 1 and return to earth a day later.

NASA has previously stated that the return of Demo 2 test flight was uncertain adding that the mission could last between one to four months. NASA’s Demo 2 test flight was launched atop Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket on May 30, marking the first time in history that a private spacecraft company carries humans into Earth's orbit. SpaceX's collaboration with NASA also denoted a major achievement in the public-private partnership that has powered the country’s spaceflight development.

Meanwhile, NASA recently broadcasted the spacewalks of its astronauts Chris Cassidy and Robert Behnken, who made a final move to upgrade the power system at the ISS. As per NASA, the spacewalks another spacewalk would be conducted on July 21 to complete the 3.5 years of efforts to upgrade the batteries at International Space station.

The July spacewalk would mark the 300th spacewalk for US astronauts since Ed White first stepped out of his Gemini 4 capsule in1965. These spacewalks would also mark the ninth and tenth for Cassidy and Behnken who would join former astronauts Michael Lopez Alegria and Peggy Whitson with most spacewalks for Americans. 

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Read: NASA To Broadcast Spacewalks Aimed At Upgrading Power System At ISS