TAMPA, Fla. — The first astronauts to launch from American soil in nearly a decade could be home by early next month.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine says the space agency is targeting Aug. 1 as the date when SpaceX's Dragon Endeavor spacecraft would depart the International Space Station to bring astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley back to Earth. If all went as planned, they would splash down on Aug. 2.
"Weather will drive the actual date," Bridenstine tweeted.
SpaceX made history on May 30 when the two NASA astronauts blasted off on the private space company's Falcon 9 rocket. Behnken, during a recent spacewalk, helped complete a three-year power upgrade to the ISS.
The Crew Dragon capsule launch was the first crewed mission from U.S. soil since the end of the Space Shuttle era in 2011.
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