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SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, carrying astronauts from the recent Fram2 mission, concluded its journey with a successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, marking a geographic shift in landing locations for the private space company. This West Coast landing off the coast of Southern California represents a first for SpaceX astronaut missions, as prior recoveries consistently occurred in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico near Florida. The Dragon spacecraft’s safe return highlights SpaceX’s commitment to astronaut safety and mission success.
SpaceX’s Dragon Capsule Makes First West Coast Splashdown
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience in the Pacific Ocean after concluding the Fram2 mission. | Credit: SpaceX
For SpaceX, the West Coast is now preferred for Dragon capsule ocean recoveries.
The company’s Fram2 mission, transporting four individuals, culminated successfully on Friday, April 4, with the Crew Dragon “Resilience” capsule splashing down off the Southern California coastline.
Geographically, this marked a precedent for SpaceX. All preceding 16 astronaut missions had concluded with water landings near Florida, either in the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico.
Resilience is lifted onto a recovery vessel on April 4 following its Pacific Ocean splashdown. | Credit: SpaceX
Indeed, every returning Dragon capsule, with or without crew, had splashed down near Florida since the beginning of 2021. However, in July of last year, SpaceX declared its intention to relocate recovery operations to the West Coast.
Rationale Behind the Location Change
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The decision arose from instances where debris from the Dragon’s disposable trunk section landed on land. This occurred despite projections that the trunk would completely incinerate during reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.
Relocating splashdowns to the West Coast, coupled with discarding the trunk following Dragon’s deorbit burn to manage its flight path, aims to prevent any debris from endangering people or causing property damage, according to SpaceX. Any surviving remnants from reentry are now expected to fall into the Pacific Ocean.
SpaceX representatives have confirmed that this revised strategy was implemented for Fram2 and will be consistently applied to all future Dragon missions moving forward.
Past Dragon Recovery Procedures
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While characterized as “new,” this strategy harkens back to Dragon splashdown origins. The Pacific Ocean was the initial and exclusive landing zone for nearly ten years after the inaugural Dragon flight in 2010.
East Coast Operations and Cargo Delivery
“Dragon recovery operations were shifted to the East Coast in 2019,” SpaceX stated in a July update, “to improve efficiency in unpacking and delivering vital cargo to NASA teams in Florida and to expedite crew transport to Kennedy Space Center.”