SpaceX Crew Dragon Test Flight is a Success

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean at 8:45 A.M. ET on March 8.  During the week prior, the Crew Dragon spacecraft was launched to the International Space Station (ISS).  There were no astronauts on board; instead, aboard the capsule was 400 pounds of supplies for the ISS, a dummy named Ripley to test how a human would handle the mission, and a plush planet named Little Earth.  The Crew Dragon was lifted out of the water by recovery boats at around 10:00 A.M. SpaceX, as well as Boeing, were given $6.8 billion dollars to create spacecrafts to potentially carry astronauts to the ISS. The Crew Dragon’s arrival shows promise in NASA’s goal to send astronauts to space later this year.  Its re-entry marked the conclusion to a successful mission, which NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine described as an “important milestone in the future of human spaceflight.”