Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX has successfully returned to Earth the first-ever mission when “space tourists” circled the planet above the poles.
This was reported by the SpaceX press service.
The Fram2 mission ended when four astronauts in the Crew Dragon Resilience capsule landed on a specially equipped landing site off the coast of Southern California.
This is the first time SpaceX has landed a capsule on the west coast of the United States, as all 16 missions have previously landed off Florida, either in the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico.
The location was changed because fragments of the Dragon spacecraft’s removable part had been found on land several times. However, it was estimated that it should have burned up entirely during reentry.
Now the landings are planned to be moved to the west coast, and the part of the spacecraft that falls off will be disconnected after Dragon has left orbit. This will allow for more precise control of its trajectory. According to SpaceX, this approach ensures that the debris will not cause damage to people or property – anything that does not burn in the atmosphere will fall into the Pacific Ocean.
The new landing strategy was tested on Fram2 and will now be repeated in each subsequent Dragon mission.
During their mission, the crew conducted 22 experiments to improve understanding of human health in space and prepare for long-duration spaceflight. They took the first X-ray in space, exercised to maintain muscles and bones, and grew mushrooms in microgravity.
After returning to Earth, the team left the Dragon spacecraft without the help of doctors to understand how independently astronauts can act after the flight.