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Splashdown is the method of landing a spacecraft or launch vehicle in a body of water, usually by parachute. This has been the primary recovery method of American capsules including NASA’s Mercury , Gemini , Apollo and Orion along with the private SpaceX Dragon .
The quick release latching hatch weighed 69 lb (31 kg), too much of a weight addition to use on the orbital version of the spacecraft. The explosive hatch design used the 70 bolts of the original design, but each quarter-inch (6.35 mm) titanium bolt had a 0.06 in (1.5 mm) hole bored into it to provide a weak point.
Video on social media showed the explosion and its aftermath as remains of the spacecraft are seen breaking up in what looks like a stunning meteor shower. Explosion not 1st during SpaceX testing
The spacecraft went from a screaming orbital speed of 17,500 mph (28,000 kph) to 350 mph (560 kph) during atmospheric reentry, and finally to 15 mph (24 kph) at splashdown.
The spacecraft for MR-3, Mercury capsule #7, was delivered to Cape Canaveral on December 9, 1960. It had originally been expected that a mission could be launched soon after the spacecraft was available, but Capsule #7 turned out to require extensive development and testing work before it was deemed safe for flight.
A few minutes later, the spacecraft's parachutes unfurled and the Crew Dragon settled to a gentle 15-mph splashdown at 3:36 a.m. EDT near Dry Tortugas, about 70 miles from Key West, Florida.
The spacecraft performed entry into the Earth's atmosphere and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean about 200 miles (320 km) off Florida's east coast. [13] The capsule was recovered using SpaceX's recovery ship, GO Searcher , and was returned to shore, where it was examined and the data collected by the on board sensors was analyzed.
Nasa’s Orion spacecraft is making its way back to Earth after a trip around the moon that lasted 25 days. The uncrewed capsule, which is designed to carry astronauts, is set to splash down in ...