SpaceX Dragon 2 Return to Earth Today (March 8) 8:45 AM EST, 13:45 UTC

SpaceX's Dragon 2 crew-capable (but unmanned) demonstration flight will end shortly this morning as it splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean at around 8:45 AM EST (13:45 UTC) this morning, Friday, March 8.

NASA Live: SpaceX Crew Dragon Demo-1 Undock and Departure
Friday, March 8, 7:30 a.m.: SpaceX Crew Dragon deorbit and landing coverage. The 15-minute, 25-second deorbit burn, which begins at about 7:52 a.m., will place the Crew Dragon on its final re-entry path into Earth’s atmosphere. Splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean is scheduled around 8:45 a.m. EST.

Coverage will begin at 7:30 AM (12:30 UTC) and can be seen on NASA TV at www.nasa.gov...

or on youtube:

hey... Im watching that

It just splashed down a minute ago, but it seems one of the parachutes covered the craft after splashdown. Maybe?

If so, I wonder if that could be a potential problem that would need to be resolved.

For example, are there certain emergency escape procedures that the crew might need to do (in case of an emergency) that might be hampered by a parachute covering the craft?

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People
well they just had two guys on the speed boat remove the parachute
doesnt look very worrying but you never know with NASA

Took a while for them to get the parachute off, is there a regulated time that astronauts need to have been able to be evacuated by? if they could sit in the craft from ISS down to earth then it shouldn't be that much of an issue to sit in the ocean for 10 more minutes?

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

Yeah, one parachute covered the capsule but it appears all is well after using a gaff or something to pull it over and off...she’s ready to be loaded onto the vessel and freighted 200 miles back to Florida.

Thanks for the thread

a reply to: mightmight

Only issue I can see is if it is still attached to the capsule, fills with water, and pulls it under.

It was a flawless return for sure.

originally posted by: mightmight
a reply to: Soylent Green Is People
well they just had two guys on the speed boat remove the parachute
doesnt look very worrying but you never know with NASA

I think it's SpaceX doing the recovery, not NASA. Nor was it NASA commentators on the broadcast. The people on the broadcast were SpaceX people.

I'm sure that if there are issues, the commentators are instructed by SpaceX (and maybe even Musk) not to speculate on the air about the potential significance of those issues.

I think it's SpaceX doing the recovery, not NASA. Nor was it NASA commentators on the broadcast. The people on the broadcast were SpaceX people.

Yes but its a NASA contract. If they dont like what they see, nobody is going up.

originally posted by: mightmight

I think it's SpaceX doing the recovery, not NASA. Nor was it NASA commentators on the broadcast. The people on the broadcast were SpaceX people.

Yes but its a NASA contract. If they dont like what they see, nobody is going up.

Ah...I understand your comment now. When you said "doesnt look very worrying but you never know with NASA ", I thought you were saying that the people on the broadcast were NASA people and "you never know with NASA" meant that they would withhold any comments about potential issues with the parachute.

I'm guessing that if the two SpaceX presenters were engineers (and it appeared they might have some engineering knowledge) and that SpaceX engineer they were speaking with immediately after splashdown DID think that there might be issues with the parachute, they would not have mentioned it in the broadcast. It's best to leave that up to any post-lading press briefing.

My main concern with the whole mission is that condition of the re-entry vehicle after splashdown. Granted white isn't the best colour for something designed to do this, but it looks like it's had a hammering! Hopefully the structure itself has remained sound and the sensors on the inside show no problems.

All in all though, a great mission - exciting times in space research.

a reply to: OneBigMonkeyToo
Toasted marshmallow.



It's white thermal protection layers, so all's good.

www.space.com...

Is it just me or is Elon Musk a really twitchy dude? Like...I don't know man. There's something really unsettling about him. Like he almost seems like he's fighting to stay in reality. LOL