27 epic images show how SpaceX made history by flying NASA astronauts to and from the space station

Morgan McFall-JohnsenAug 4, 2020, 05:57 IST

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, who flew a 63-day mission with SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicle, are the first people the company ever launched to orbit and returned to Earth.SpaceX; Business Insider

SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship splashed into the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, returning NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley from a high-stakes mission to the space station.
The demonstration mission resurrected US human spaceflight after a nine-year hiatus. The astronauts were the first people to fly in a commercial spaceship.
Here are 27 incredible photos from their journey.

SpaceX and NASA made history on Sunday when a toasted, gumdrop-shaped spaceship splashed into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Crew Dragon capsule — designed by SpaceX with funding from NASA — was returning astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to Earth after an unprecedented mission to the International Space Station. It was the first time a private company had taken humans into space.

But this was just a demonstration mission. Its success tees NASA up to ferry astronauts regularly to and from the space station aboard the Crew Dragon.

"This day heralds a new age of space exploration," Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO, said in a briefing after the splashdown, adding, "I'm not very religious, but I prayed for this one."

Here are the best photos from the launch, the astronauts' time in space, and their fiery plunge back to Earth.

Behnken and Hurley were the first people ever to fly a commercial spacecraft.

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken (left) and Doug Hurley wear their spacesuits during a dress rehearsal on May 23, 2020. SpaceX via Twitter

Their mission, called Demo-2, revived the US's ability to launch and fly its own astronauts, which it lost after the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon attached rolls out of a hangar at NASA Kennedy Space Center on January 3, 2019. SpaceX

On May 30, Behnken and Hurley climbed into the Crew Dragon and launched into space atop one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets.

SpaceX's Demo-2 mission, launched with a Falcon 9 rocket, lifts off with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley inside a Crew Dragon spaceship, May 30, 2020. Tony Gray and Tim Powers/NASA

They had first attempted the launch three days earlier, but cloudy weather made it unsafe for the rocket to fly.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship and Falcon 9 rocket stand ready at Cape Canaveral, Florida, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on May 24, 2020. Ben Cooper/SpaceX

On both launch days, the astronauts were helped into their spacesuits at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley (foreground) and Bob Behnken don SpaceX spacesuits during a dress rehearsal at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 17, 2020. NASA/Kim Shiflett

The men said goodbye to their families. Both are married to astronauts, and they each have a young son.

Hurley and Behnken say goodbye to their families and give distant "hugs," May 27, 2020. NASA TV

Behnken and Hurley had been working with SpaceX for five years as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

Elon Musk (left) speaks with Bob Behnken on the fixed service structure of Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, March 1, 2019. Joel Kowsky/NASA

Inside Crew Dragon before they launched, NASA's livestream showed the astronauts closing their eyes and taking deep breaths as they waited for the final countdown.

Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley wait for launch inside the Crew Dragon spaceship, May 30, 2020. Screenshot/NASA TV

The rocket lifted off at 3:22 p.m. ET, then the Crew Dragon capsule separated from the body of the Falcon 9.

The Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, May 30, 2020. NASA/Bill Ingalls

On Earth, teams from SpaceX and NASA celebrated the success. "I'm really quite overcome with emotion," Musk told reporters.

Elon Musk celebrates the launch of NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley from Florida on May 30, 2020 on the rocket company's Crew Dragon spaceship. Steve Nesius/Reuters

Once they were safely orbiting Earth, Behnken and Hurley named their Crew Dragon capsule "Endeavour" — a tribute to the last space shuttle ever built.

Doug Hurley (front) and Bob Behnken conduct a livestream tour of the Crew Dragon "Endeavour" capsule from orbit, May 30, 2020. NASA TV

The next day, Endeavour opened its nose cone and docked to the space station.

The Crew Dragon docks to the International Space Station, May 31, 2020. Chris Cassidy

After a hatch-opening procedure that took about two hours, Behnken and Hurley floated onto the ISS.

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley float into the International Space Station on May 31, 2020, after flying SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship. NASA

Upon arrival, they displayed a trophy for SpaceX: a US flag that the last space shuttle crew left on the ISS. It waited nine years for NASA's next human launch from US soil.

Doug Hurley (center) holds up the flag during a press call with Bob Behnken (left) and astronaut Chris Cassidy (right) aboard the International Space Station, June 1, 2020. NASA TV

Upon arrival, they displayed a trophy for SpaceX: a US flag that the last space shuttle crew left on the ISS. It waited nine years for NASA's next human launch from US soil.

The spaceship remained docked to the ISS for the next two months. It was designed to survive up to 110 days in the harsh environment of space.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon "Endeavour" spaceship photographed by astronauts Bob Behnken and Chris Cassidy while they performed a spacewalk on July 1, 2020. NASA

While on the ISS, Behnken and Hurley worked on science experiments that NASA conducts in microgravity.

Behnken conducts an experiment on water droplet formation in microgravity, testing a water-conserving showerhead technology. NASA

Behnken and Cassidy went on a couple of spacewalks together.

Spacewalkers Bob Behnken (far left) and Chris Cassidy (far right) are suited up with assistance from Expedition 63 Flight Engineers (middle left) Doug Hurley and Ivan Vagner (middle right) ahead of their June 26 spacewalk. NASA

They did routine maintenance outside the station: replacing batteries, installing new equipment, and removing old parts.

Bob Behnken works during a six-hour spacewalk to swap an aging nickel-hydrogen battery for a new lithium-ion battery on the International Space Station, July 1, 2020. NASA

Then came the high-stakes final leg of the Demo-2 mission: coming home. Behnken and Hurley crawled back into the Crew Dragon on Saturday, August 1, and undocked from the space station.

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley (foreground) and Bob Behnken in their Crew Dragon "Endeavour" spaceship while returning to Earth on August 2, 2020. NASA

Then came the high-stakes final leg of the Demo-2 mission: coming home. Behnken and Hurley crawled back into the Crew Dragon on Saturday, August 1, and undocked from the space station.

Musk had previously said the blistering, 3,500-degree-Fahrenheit plunge through Earth's atmosphere was his "biggest concern."

SpaceX

At the end of the astronauts' descent, parachutes slowed the fall. The capsule landed in the Gulf of Mexico at 2:48 p.m. ET on Sunday, off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.

SpaceX's Demo-2 mission splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on August 2, 2020, after returning from the International Space Station. Bill Ingalls/NASA

At the end of the astronauts' descent, parachutes slowed the fall. The capsule landed in the Gulf of Mexico at 2:48 p.m. ET on Sunday, off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.

SpaceX and NASA teams in speedboats rushed to recover the capsule and pull the astronauts out — but civilian onlookers in their own boats swarmed the scene, too.

Support teams and recreational boaters arrive at the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft shortly after it splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, August 2, 2020. NASA/Bill Ingalls

Even cosmonaut Ivan Vagner — the astronauts' former crewmate on the International Space Station — could see the boats speeding toward the capsule from 250 miles above Earth.

Some of the boats passed close to the capsule, including one with a passenger waving a Trump flag. NASA officials said this was dangerous for the astronauts and the onlookers.

After clearing away the unauthorized boats, the recovery team lifted the toasted capsule out of the water.

The SpaceX GO Navigator recovery ship lifts the Endeavour capsule out of the ocean, August 2, 2020. NASA/Bill Ingalls

The recovery team then helped Behnken and Hurley out of their seats and onto stretchers — a standard procedure for astronauts post-landing — so they could get immediate medical evaluations.

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken (left) and Doug Hurley inside SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the a recovery ship shortly after splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico, August 2, 2020. Bill Ingalls/NASA

The recovery team then helped Behnken and Hurley out of their seats and onto stretchers — a standard procedure for astronauts post-landing — so they could get immediate medical evaluations.

"This has been a quite an odyssey the last five, six, seven, eight years," Hurley told team members and press shortly after the landing.

NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley, left, and Bob Behnken prepare to depart their helicopter in Pensacola after the duo landed in their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, August 2, 2020. NASA/Bill Ingalls

SpaceX's first crewed mission is headed back to Earth. Here's every step that must go perfectly for 2 NASA astronauts to come home safely.

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27 epic images show how SpaceX made history by flying NASA astronauts to and from the space station

Behnken and Hurley were the first people ever to fly a commercial spacecraft.

Their mission, called Demo-2, revived the US's ability to launch and fly its own astronauts, which it lost after the Space Shuttle program ended in 2011.

On May 30, Behnken and Hurley climbed into the Crew Dragon and launched into space atop one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets.

They had first attempted the launch three days earlier, but cloudy weather made it unsafe for the rocket to fly.

On both launch days, the astronauts were helped into their spacesuits at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The men said goodbye to their families. Both are married to astronauts, and they each have a young son.

Behnken and Hurley had been working with SpaceX for five years as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.

Inside Crew Dragon before they launched, NASA's livestream showed the astronauts closing their eyes and taking deep breaths as they waited for the final countdown.

The rocket lifted off at 3:22 p.m. ET, then the Crew Dragon capsule separated from the body of the Falcon 9.

On Earth, teams from SpaceX and NASA celebrated the success. "I'm really quite overcome with emotion," Musk told reporters.

Once they were safely orbiting Earth, Behnken and Hurley named their Crew Dragon capsule "Endeavour" — a tribute to the last space shuttle ever built.

The next day, Endeavour opened its nose cone and docked to the space station.

After a hatch-opening procedure that took about two hours, Behnken and Hurley floated onto the ISS.

Upon arrival, they displayed a trophy for SpaceX: a US flag that the last space shuttle crew left on the ISS. It waited nine years for NASA's next human launch from US soil.

The spaceship remained docked to the ISS for the next two months. It was designed to survive up to 110 days in the harsh environment of space.

While on the ISS, Behnken and Hurley worked on science experiments that NASA conducts in microgravity.

Behnken and Cassidy went on a couple of spacewalks together.

They did routine maintenance outside the station: replacing batteries, installing new equipment, and removing old parts.

Then came the high-stakes final leg of the Demo-2 mission: coming home. Behnken and Hurley crawled back into the Crew Dragon on Saturday, August 1, and undocked from the space station.

Musk had previously said the blistering, 3,500-degree-Fahrenheit plunge through Earth's atmosphere was his "biggest concern."

At the end of the astronauts' descent, parachutes slowed the fall. The capsule landed in the Gulf of Mexico at 2:48 p.m. ET on Sunday, off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.

SpaceX and NASA teams in speedboats rushed to recover the capsule and pull the astronauts out — but civilian onlookers in their own boats swarmed the scene, too.

Even cosmonaut Ivan Vagner — the astronauts' former crewmate on the International Space Station — could see the boats speeding toward the capsule from 250 miles above Earth.

Some of the boats passed close to the capsule, including one with a passenger waving a Trump flag. NASA officials said this was dangerous for the astronauts and the onlookers.

After clearing away the unauthorized boats, the recovery team lifted the toasted capsule out of the water.

The recovery team then helped Behnken and Hurley out of their seats and onto stretchers — a standard procedure for astronauts post-landing — so they could get immediate medical evaluations.

"This has been a quite an odyssey the last five, six, seven, eight years," Hurley told team members and press shortly after the landing.