NASA‘s veteran astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft commended the craft, saying that it was a fantastic experience to board the vehicle.
Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley were full of praises for the collaborated efforts of SpaceX and NASA’s commercial crew program after designing the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The two astronauts safely jetted back to Earth after a mission that took over two months.
Hurley reported that the flight had no hitches whatsoever, an experience that is spectacular compared to what they usually go through on space missions. In his experience, Hurley explains that this is the first mission that was glitch-free from the beginning to the end. Not even space shuttle missions are this way perfect.
An illustrative example is that Hurley anticipated that the vehicle shifts out of position and swerve into the dense atmosphere before the subsequent parachute ejection. However, he narrates that the space vehicle was steady and in perfect motion throughout the reentry mission.
Behnken recollects a pictographic memory of the capsule diving down the Earth’s atmosphere. He states that the Dragon came to life approaching the atmosphere and propelled downwards to stay in the orthodox altitude in the reentry mission.
Behnken explains that the Dragon exceptionally thrust itself down the atmosphere like a bird following its path. The capsule was outrightly steady and moving down the Earth withstanding the atmospheric pressure and winds.
Nonetheless, the atmospheric noise and the Dragon’s propulsion noise were high though the astronauts were ready for noise-proof devices. The cataclysmic motion of the spacecraft was an exuberant sight from the astronauts’ view. The astronauts felt like they were moving inside an animal’s body.
Initially, NASA’s plan was for the Demo-2 mission to spend a few days at the International Space Station before jetting back to Earth. NASA altered the plan to increase the days to months so that Behnken and Hurley can perform various operations at the station, including spacewalking. Additionally, this extension was to test the spacecraft’s feasibility to stay in space for such a long period.
Behnken is happy to have experienced the Crew-1 mission, tests, and the Crew-2 mission is confident that the upcoming missions will be eventful and tantalizing. He remarks that the upcoming mission to fly four astronauts to space will be memorable after experiencing this Demo-2 mission. The spacecraft is fully fit for the upcoming launches since the two experienced astronauts tested their performance while at the International Space Station.
Finally, Behnken connotes that some modifications can be done on the spacecraft for more comfort of the crew. NASA is keen to make the vital modifications as it reviews the report.
