![\"The](\"https:\/\/blogs.nasa.gov\/spacestation\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/240\/2020\/08\/spacex_dm2_farewell_ceremony.jpg\")
<\/a>Teams from\u00a0NASA and SpaceX are proceeding with preparations to bring NASA astronauts\u00a0Robert Behnken<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Douglas Hurley<\/a>\u00a0home from the International Space Station<\/a> to Earth with a splashdown\u00a0on Sunday, Aug. 2, off the Florida coast aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon \u201cEndeavour\u201d spacecraft.<\/p>\n Watch the crew farewell ceremony on YouTube.<\/a><\/p>\n Return conditions remained \u201cGo\u201d at several of the needed target locations for splashdown and recovery\u00a0after teams received\u00a0a weather briefing Friday evening from the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron.\u00a0NASA and SpaceX will make a decision on a primary splashdown target approximately 6 hours before undocking.<\/p>\n NASA and SpaceX are targeting 7:34 p.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 1, for undocking of the Dragon \u201cEndeavour\u201d spacecraft from the space station and 2:42 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 2, for splashdown,\u00a0which will be the first return of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft carrying astronauts from the space station.<\/p>\n Teams continue to closely monitor Hurricane Isaias and evaluate impacts to\u00a0the landing sites in the Gulf of Mexico along the Florida Panhandle. Teams have\u00a0several\u00a0weather decision milestones<\/a>\u00a0ahead of and after undocking to adjust the splashdown location and time based on\u00a0the\u00a0forecasted\u00a0conditions\u00a0for recovery.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s SpaceX Demo-2 return coverage is as follows (all times Eastern):<\/p>\n Saturday, Aug. 1<\/strong><\/p>\n Sunday, Aug. 2<\/strong><\/p>\n Tuesday, Aug. 4\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Behnken and Hurley arrived at the orbiting laboratory on May 31, following a successful launch on May 30 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.\u00a0During their 63 days aboard station,\u00a0Behnken and Hurley\u00a0contributed more than 100 hours of time to supporting the orbiting laboratory\u2019s investigations,\u00a0participated in\u00a0public engagement events, and supported four spacewalks with Behnken and Cassidy\u00a0to install new batteries in the station\u2019s power grid and upgrade other station hardware.<\/p>\n These activities are a part of\u00a0NASA\u2019s Commercial Crew Program<\/a>, which has been\u00a0working\u202fwith the U.S. aerospace industry to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil\u00a0the International Space Station\u00a0for the first time since 2011.\u00a0This is SpaceX\u2019s final test flight and is providing data on the performance of the Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon spacecraft and ground systems, as well as in-orbit, docking, splashdown and recovery operations.<\/p>\n The test flight also is helping NASA certify SpaceX\u2019s crew transportation system for regular flights carrying astronauts to and from the space station. SpaceX is readying the hardware for the first rotational mission, which would occur following NASA certification.<\/p>\n The goal of NASA\u2019s Commercial Crew Program is safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station. This could allow for additional research time and increase the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity\u2019s testbed for exploration, including helping us prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.<\/p>\n More details about the mission and\u00a0NASA\u2019s commercial crew program can be found in the\u00a0press kit online<\/a>\u00a0and by following the\u00a0commercial crew blog<\/a>,\u00a0@commercial_crew<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0commercial crew on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n Learn more about station activities by following\u202f@space_station<\/a>\u202fand\u00a0@ISS_Research<\/a><\/p>\n on Twitter as well as the\u202fISS Facebook<\/a>\u202fand\u202fISS Instagram<\/a>\u202faccounts.<\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n Mark Garcia <\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Teams from NASA and SpaceX are proceeding with preparations to bring NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley home from the International Space Station to Earth with a splashdown on Sunday, Aug. 2, off the Florida coast aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour” spacecraft. Watch the crew farewell ceremony on YouTube. Return conditions remained “Go” at several of the needed target … Continue reading \n
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