NASA Crew 2 Deorbit Photos

Some photos from the NASA Crew 2 return from orbit in SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour.

NASA Crew 2 are Shane Kimbrough; K. Megan McArthur; Akihiko Hoshide; Thomas Pesquet

They launched April 23, 2021 and plan to splashdown on November 8, 2021.

Thomas Pesquet already out of his pressure suit and shooting photos.

Commander Shane Kimbrough is in the left-hand seat.
Pilot Megan McArthur is in the right-hand seat.

Cabin lights off for better photos out the window.

My favorite photo of the day so far.

SpaceX Crew Dragon

Imagining my trip into orbit.  

 

More info: https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/dragon/

As of this post, Crew Dragon from SpaceX is the only crew-rated orbital spacecraft flying from the United States.

It replaced the Space Transportation System (space shuttle) as the space "taxi" to the International Space Station (ISS).

SpaceX says:

The Dragon spacecraft is capable of carrying up to seven passengers to and from Earth orbit, and beyond. It is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth, and is the first private spacecraft to take humans to the space station.

Other companies are testing spacecraft as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. In a few years there may be many different crew-rated rides into Earth orbit.

The world isn't perfect, but this is a great time to be alive.