--- title: "Mission Accomplished: SpaceX Crew Dragon Splashes Down in Atlantic" description: "After undocking with the International Space Station Saturday evening, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley made it safely back down to Earth." date: "2020-08-02" modified: "2020-08-02" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-crew-dragon-demo-2-splashdown" categories: - "Crew Dragon" - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "crew dragon" - "iss" - "NASA" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # Mission Accomplished: SpaceX Crew Dragon Splashes Down in Atlantic ![After undocking with the International Space Station Saturday evening, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley made it safely back down to Earth.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## Splashdown After undocking with the International Space Station Saturday yesterday evening, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley began their thrill ride of a return journey inside SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1289996966424907776 Roughly 19 hours later, the pair splashed down effortlessly in the Atlantic at exactly 2:48 pm EDT off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. "Welcome back to planet Earth," the SpaceX ground team told Behnken and Hurley over the radio. "Thanks for flying SpaceX." https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/status/1289996394590138368 The ocean was calm, with one foot waves and a breezy two knot wind — perfect conditions for a splashdown. Their descent was slowed by two primary parachutes and four massive main parachutes, colored in an iconic red and white pattern, [as seen]() during SpaceX and NASA's Demo-1 mission in April 2019. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1289987081867993089?s=20 ## Demo-2 Complete It's only the second time a Crew Dragon capsule has made it back down from space — and the first time with a human crew on board. The pair managed to [successfully dock]() to the International Space Station on May 31 after launching from historic Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida a day prior. The mission marked the first time a for-profit group has successfully launched human astronauts into orbit inside a commercial spacecraft. The Demo-2 mission will help NASA certify SpaceX's futuristic astronaut shuttle for regular flights. The agency has [already picked two crews]() of four astronauts for the upcoming SpaceX Dragon flights dubbed Crew-1 and Crew-2. The flights are currently scheduled for late September and early spring 2021 respectively. **More on Crew-1 and Crew-2:** *[NASA Announces Crew For Upcoming SpaceX Mission]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()