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SpaceX Crew Spacecraft Lands Safely After Space Station Mission

An American spacecraft designed to carry astronauts has successfully completed a six-day test mission.

The unmanned SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule touched down safely Friday morning in the Atlantic Ocean. The landing happened about 300 kilometers off the coast of Florida.

Crew Dragon began its six-hour trip back to Earth after pulling away from the International Space Station, or ISS. The spacecraft spent the week docked at the ISS. Crew Dragon launched on March 2 from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. It successfully linked up with the space station the next day.

SpaceX employees who watched the landing at company headquarters in California cheered when the red and white parachutes opened to lower Crew Dragon into the water.

“I'm kind of shaky and I'm super excited,” said Benji Reed, SpaceX's director of crew mission management. “Everything happened just perfectly¹, right on time the way that we expected it to.”

It was the first time in 50 years that a capsule designed for astronauts returned from space by landing in the Atlantic Ocean. The last time was on March 13, 1969, when America’s Apollo 9 landed in the ocean after orbiting Earth in preparation for moon landings.

American space station astronauts have been carried to space by Russian rockets since the U.S. space agency NASA halted its shuttle program eight years ago.

The successful test mission marked an important moment for the U.S. space program’s plans to restart manned space flights. SpaceX plans to launch its first crewed test flight in July with American astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken.

America’s Boeing has plans to launch its Starliner capsule without a crew as early as next month, and possibly with astronauts in August. The Starliner is designed to touch down on land.

NASA has awarded SpaceX and Boeing a total of $6.8 billion to build competing rocket and capsule systems to launch astronauts into orbit. NASA Administrator² Jim Bridenstine praised Crew Dragon’s mission. He said such progress was “leading to a day where we are launching American astronauts on American rockets from American soil.”

Crew Dragon brought 180 kilograms of test equipment to the space station, including a dummy³ named Ripley. The dummy was fitted with sensors⁵ around its head, neck, and back for an experiment designed to test how a flight would feel for humans.

The space station’s three-member crew greeted Crew Dragon upon its arrival. American astronaut Anne McClain and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques carried out air quality tests and inspections⁶ inside the capsule.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

mission – n. an important task, usually involving travel somewhere

capsule – n. the part of a spacecraft that carries people

dock – v. to link up with or attach to

dummy – n. a model or reproduction of a person

sensor⁴ – n. piece of equipment designed to find light, hear, etc.

1 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

2 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

3 dummy   

n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头

参考例句：

• The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
• The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。

4 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

5 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

6 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》