--- title: "NASA Just Picked a Date for SpaceX to Bring Back Its Astronauts" description: "NASA is expecting to start returning SpaceX Crew Dragon pilots Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to Earth from the ISS on August 1." date: "2020-07-17" modified: "2020-07-17" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-return-crew-dragon-august-2" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "crew dragon" - "iss" - "NASA" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # NASA Just Picked a Date for SpaceX to Bring Back Its Astronauts ![NASA is expecting to start returning SpaceX Crew Dragon pilots Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to Earth from the ISS on August 1.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## It's a Date On May 30, SpaceX [made history]() by launching the first astronauts to the International Space Station from U.S. ground since the retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle program in 2011. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley may have piloted the the [futuristic Crew Dragon]() space capsule with ease — but the mission, dubbed Demo-2, is far from over. Both astronauts will still have to make their return journey inside the capsule — and NASA has finally picked a tentative date for exactly that: disengaging from the ISS on August 1, as [*CNBC* reports](), with splashdown in the Atlantic ocean scheduled for 3pm on August 2. https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/status/1284160302842511361 ## Completing the Mission The plan is to undock from the ISS, blaze through the Earth's atmosphere during descent, and splash into the Atlantic to be picked up by a nearby ship — a journey already completed by a preceding, uncrewed Crew Dragon capsule last year. Exact departure time from the space station is still "a bit of a moving target" thanks to changing weather conditions as NASA’s Johnson Space Center, public affairs officer Kyle Herring told *CNBC*. As of right now, the plan is to undock at around 8 pm Eastern on August 1. Behnken and Hurely have kept busy since arriving at the ISS on May 31, by replacing the space station's aging old solar array batteries with lithium ion ones during [a trio of spacewalks](). **READ MORE:** [NASA plans to return its astronauts in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft on Aug. 2]() \[*CNBC*\] **More on Crew Dragon:** *[NASA Astronaut Says SpaceX Crew Dragon Looked “Awesome” During Spacewalk]()* ## 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]()