NASA, SpaceX all set for return of astronauts from International Space Station to Earth on August 2

Washington DC: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and SpaceX teams are all set to bring back NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) on August 2.

"Conditions remain “Go” at several of the needed target locations for splashdown and recovery off the Florida coast on Sunday aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour” spacecraft," said NASA on Saturday (August 1, 2020).

They added, "Teams continue to closely monitor Hurricane Isaias and evaluate impacts to the landing sites in the Gulf of Mexico along the Florida Panhandle. Teams have several weather decision milestones ahead of and after undocking to adjust the splashdown location and time based on the forecasted conditions for recovery."

NEWS: Teams from @NASA and @SpaceX remain GO with plans to bring @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken home to Earth on Sunday afternoon. We will continue to monitor weather before undocking Saturday night. Read more: https://t.co/GjXe4q6tQA — Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) August 1, 2020

SpaceX and NASA are targeting 7:34 PM EDT on August 1 (5:04 AM IST on August 2) for Crew Dragon to autonomously undock from the Space Station with the two astronauts aboard the spacecraft.

After around 18 hours, the Dragon is slated for splash down at one of seven targeted water landing sites off the coast of Florida at 2:42 PM EDT on August 2 (12:12 am IST on August 3).

The homecoming of Douglas and Robert after more than two months at the ISS will mark the first return of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft carrying astronauts from the space station. 

They're coming home! 

On Aug. 1, astronauts @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug will depart the @Space_Station on @SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft after a more than 60-day stay in space. Take a look at this recap of their #LaunchAmerica mission: https://t.co/l5xc6yQDn4 pic.twitter.com/paA05rPwr2 — NASA (@NASA) July 31, 2020

Earlier on May 30, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched Crew Dragon’s second demonstration (Demo-2) mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

The Crew Dragon autonomously docked to the ISS on May 31. 

This is the first time in human history @NASA_Astronauts have entered the @Space_Station from a commercially-made spacecraft. @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug have finally arrived to the orbiting laboratory in @SpaceX's Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. pic.twitter.com/3t9Ogtpik4 — NASA (@NASA) May 31, 2020

NASA stated that once the Demo-2 mission is complete and the SpaceX and NASA teams have reviewed all the data for certification, NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi will fly on Dragon’s first six-month operational mission (Crew-1) scheduled for late September this year.