The Crew Dragon astronauts look like they are wearing costumes. SpaceX gave them rather odd-looking spacesuits that's a lot different from the usual NASA suits. Perhaps that's the reason why the Elon Musk-founded company took the time to explain its sleek design in a video that offers insights into the unique space garb.
These SpaceX suits feature a streamlined design that shares a symbiotic relationship with Cred Dragon spacecraft seats. They can be attached via an "umbilical" that connects the astronauts for breathing, communications, and basically everything to survive the journey.
According to SpaceX's spacesuits and crew equipment manager Chris Trigg, the space company prioritized ease of use first and foremost, "something the crew just has to literally plug in when they sit down and then the suit kind of takes care of itself from there."
The release of the video coincides with the upcoming return of the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission. NASA astronauts Dough Hurley and Bob Behnken are set to leave the International Space Station on Aug. 1 and will land on Earth in the Atlantic on Aug. 2.
Returning to Earth takes some time, but NASA will be there throughout the conclusion of the mission with a livestream on NASA TV. there could be changes on the timing details, but the following has been set for this monumental return:
Aug. 1:
Farewell to the ISS at 6:10 a.m. PT.
Undocking at 2:15 p.m
Departure at 4:34 p.m.
Aug. 2:
Splashdown in the Atlantic targeted for 11:42 a.m. PT.
News conference set for 2 p.m. PT.
It will be one dramatic re-entry to Earth: "Crew Dragon will be traveling at orbital velocity prior to reentry, moving at approximately 17,500 miles per hour. The maximum temperature it will experience on reentry is approximately 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit," said NASA in a statement on July 24.
The Crew Dragon will greeted by a SpaceX recovery vessel called Endeavour. It will collect the parachutes and the spacecraft itself from the Atlantic Ocean. Endeavour will be then lifted onto the ship and astronauts Hurley and Behnken will be met by a medical team.
The return to Earth all the way to the splashdown serves as SpaceX's final tests. If all goes well without a glitch, the company will be permitted to provide regular, operational flights to the space station beginning later in 2020. It would also mean that NASA wouldn't have to use Russian spacecraft for the first time since the shuttle era.
