SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Successfully Splashes Down in the Atlantic with Four Space Tourists

The reusable manned spacecraft Crew Dragon with four space tourists on board after completing its stay at the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, February 9, successfully splashed down in the Atlantic, the company that developed the device, SpaceX, reported.

After leaving orbit, the ship’s descent capsule, using a parachute system, made a soft splashdown off the east coast of Florida near the city of Dayton, Interfax reports. In the splashdown area, the SpaceX search and rescue vessel Shannon was waiting for the capsule.

Crew Dragon with space tourists on board launched to the ISS on January 19. The crew commander was former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, who also commanded the company’s first mission to the ISS, Axiom-1. Also traveling to the ISS were Italian Walter Villadei (pilot), Swede Markus Wandt (mission specialist) and Alper Gezeravcı (mission specialist), who became the first astronaut in Turkish history. All three have experience serving in the air forces of their countries.

The third Axiom mission (Ax-3) had a crew of four on the ISS for more than two weeks, during which they worked alongside the station’s current crew. Tourists conducted about 30 scientific experiments on board the ISS.

The first commercial astronaut mission, Ax-1, took place in April 2022. It was originally designed to last 10 days, but due to bad weather at the splashdown site off the coast of Florida, the four astronauts stayed on it for a week longer. The cost of the flight for each member of the Axiom-1 mission was estimated at $55 million.

The flight of the crew of the company’s second mission, Ax-2, to the ISS took place in May 2023.

Flights with space tourists under the Axiom Space program, in agreement with SpaceX, are planned to be carried out two to three times a year in the future.

2024-02-09 14:09:14
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