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CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida – SpaceX's Crew Dragon Capsule arrived in the harbor Saturday night (March 9), moored to a SpaceX recovery ship.
Spectators gathered at Jetty Park, a very popular sighting spot at the mouth of the harbor, in anticipation of Dragon's arrival. SpaceX's GO Searcher salvage ship arrived at the harbor just after 9:30 pm. EST (10:30 GMT on March 10).
Saturday's arrival closed a successful demonstration demonstration mission for the Dragon crew that started a week before. A Falcon 9 rocket placed the capsule into orbit on March 2, from the historic Pad 39A, to the Kennedy Space Center of NASA. Crew Dragon then spent a day chasing the International Space Station (ISS) and docking autonomously with the lab in orbit early Sunday morning (March 3).
Related: The historic demo-1 mission of the SpaceX dragon team in pictures
Crew Dragon left the ISS five days later, splash in the Atlantic Ocean at 8:45 am EST (13:45 GMT) on Friday, March 8th.
Recovery teams were waiting to pick the capsule – its anterior exterior, bright white, now looked like a grilled marshmallow – get out of the water and bring it back to the ground. Thanks to the maritime traffic sites, space enthusiasts were able to follow Dragon's return journey.
Close-up of SpaceX crew's Dragon capsule cruising to Port Canaveral, Florida, on March 9, aboard the GO Searcher salvage ship.
(Image: © Amy Thompson)
About 100 people adorned the shoreline of Jetty Park when SpaceX's first salvage fleet arrived in the channel. In the distance, the Dragon-toting GO Searcher vessel was barely visible. The waves crashed against the jetty and the Big Dipper constellation shone brightly. the excitement grew with each passing minute. Eventually, the boat, which stood right in front of the harbor, picked up speed and began its approach.
Colorful lights adorned the sides of the ship, a green square representing the ship's helipad (which can be used to transport astronauts in case of emergency). As the distance between GO Searcher and his waiting fans dwindled, Crew Dragon appeared. From the rear of the ship, the burned appearance of Dragon was visible, even in the dimly lit night.
View of the SpaceX GO Searcher salvage ship seen from the air, taken during a 2018 exercise.
(Image: © NASA)
Crew Dragon was quickly transferred to a US Navy submarine basin, where the craft would be unloaded and transported to SpaceX's Cape Canaveral facility. (As a general rule, when the first Falcon 9s arrive at the port after landing on a SpaceX drone, the boosters are towed to the SpaceX dock further in the harbor).
While Crew Dragon was flying unmanned on this inaugural mission, a fake astronaut – a test dummy named Ripley – was cordoned off inside the probe. If all goes well with SpaceX's next major test – an abortion mission planned for early summer – astronauts could fly on Crew Dragon later this year.
Meanwhile, the Florida Space Coast is preparing for its next launch. On Friday, March 15, a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket will launch the 10th Airborne SATCOM Broadband Communications Satellite (WGS) in orbit at 18:56. EDT.
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