SpaceX’s Fram2 mission ends with historic West Coast Splashdown

A change in SpaceX’s retro routine kicked with the end of its Fram2 astronaut mission. Crew Dragon Capsules, named flexibility, fell down on 4 April in the Pacific Ocean, away from the coast of Southern California. This was the first for SpaceX – every previous crew returns ended at the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic. The recovery teams were already nearby, and the capsule was raised without any hiccups.

Prashant Landing is back – for good

according to a Report By Space.com, SpaceX actually included the Pacific Splashdown in its original recovery blueprint. From 2010 to 2019, both cargo and crew missions returned in this way. Things then moved to Florida, mainly to speed up the process of obtaining astronauts and to supply back to the Kennedy Space Center. But it has changed again. Last July, the company confirmed that the Prashant plan had returned – and it was pasted. The future missions will follow the same West Coast route.

Space junk inspires change

This step was not just about logistics. Spacex flagged off concerns about the debris falling from previous missions. Bits of the Trunk section – which were about to burn during reverentry – on the ground, retained. This should not have happened. To prevent more than that, SpaceX now separates the trunk after burning doorbits. This gives them more control where all this ends. The new method was used during the Fram2 mission, and moving forward, any remaining debris should move away from people safely, out of the sea.