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Missouri astronaut prepares to make his way back to Earth

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Weather permitting, NASA astronaut Bob Behnken and fellow spaceman Doug Hurley are scheduled to undock Saturday evening at the International Space Station and begin their historic journey back home. Their mission marks the first time in U.S. history that a commercial astronaut crew has gone to space and the first human space flight from U.S. soil in nearly a decade.

From left: Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken

Behnken, a native of St. Louis County and Washington University grad, rocketed into space two months ago on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft they named “Endeavour”.

The National Hurricane Center says Florida remains in the path of Hurricane Isaias and the storm is expected to move past Cape Canaveral. Behnken and Hurley are scheduled to splash down in their capsule off the coast of Florida around 2:48 p.m. Sunday. It will be the first water landing of astronauts since the last Apollo mission in 1975.

“NASA teams will continue to closely a monitor Tropical Storm Isaias and evaluate impacts to weather around the Florida peninsula, including the potential splashdown sites in the Gulf of Mexico and along the state’s Atlantic coast,” NASA says. “NASA and SpaceX will make a decision on a primary splashdown target approximately 6 hours before undocking Saturday.”

If the mission is a go, two boats will arrive immediately after splashdown to get the capsule and open the hatch for Behnken and Hurley.

Behnken has been on two other space missions. He is also a flight test pilot in the U.S. Air Force.

Southern Missouri native and NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins of Richland will be part of a mission later this year to the International Space Station after Behnken returns.

Behnken’s wife, Megan, will also be heading to the International Space Station next spring. NASA has chosen her to pilot the same spaceship as the one her husband is returning in.

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Bad weather postpones Missouri astronaut’s trip to space

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From left: Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken (Photo courtesy of NASA’s Twitter page)

St. Louis County native and NASA astronaut Bob Behnken’s mission to the International Space Station will have to wait. Bad weather forced the liftoff to get postponed until Saturday afternoon.

Behnken is part of the first manned U.S. spaceflight in nearly a decade and the first space launch in history to involve a commercial aerospace company carrying humans into Earth’s orbit. NASA has teamed up with SpaceX for the mission.

Behnken is a Pattonville High and Washington University graduate. He has been on two other space flights and is also a U.S. Air Force colonel.

His wife, K. Megan McArthur, briefly joined NASA’s broadcast today. McArthur is a fellow astronaut.

“For me personally as a spouse, watching everything that Bob has put into this over the last five years, the dedication that he’s shown and the perseverance, is pretty special. For both of us though, the way that our minds work, it won’t be until sort of the mission is complete that you have a chance to savor it and celebrate it. This is a huge accomplishment for an Air Force flight test engineer to be part of the demonstration mission of a brand new vehicle. It’s going to be amazing,” she says.

Astronaut Michael Hopkins

NASA’s broadcast also included astronaut and southern Missouri native Michael Hopkins of Richland. He will be part of a mission later this year to the International Space Station after Behnken returns.

“As you can imagine, there’s a lot of emotions,” says Hopkins. “Of course we’re excited – excited for Bob and Doug, excited for NASA, excited for SpaceX, and really the whole country. A lot of pride in what it’s taken to get to this moment. All the thousands of people that have contributed to getting to this moment. But then there’s also bit of sense of duty of business as usual. So for us, we’re going to be watching. We’re going to be listening. We’re going to be learning and all of that to help get us prepared for when it’s our turn.”

Saturday’s liftoff is scheduled for 2:22 p.m. CST.

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Missouri astronaut prepares for historic SpaceX launch

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Later this month, north St. Louis County native Bob Behnken will put on his spacesuit and command the historic SpaceX flight to the International Space Station. He will strap into his seat in the cockpit of the Dragon spacecraft and fire up the vehicle. After a countdown concludes, Behnken and another NASA astronaut will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

He will be aboard the first manned U.S. spaceflight in nearly a decade. The May 27 mission is also the first attempt by a private company – SpaceX – to fly astronauts to orbit.

Behnken, a Pattonville High and Washington University graduate, grew up being inspired by NASA’s programs. That inspiration has launched him into space two other times. He has logged more than 1,000 flight hours in 25 different aircraft.

Behnken says the coronavirus situation has shifted launch preparations.

“What’s really happened is the normal quarantine that astronauts go through about two weeks prior to launch to really make sure that we don’t take anything to the International Space Station or get the crew on orbit sick or be sick when we get on orbit. We’ve had to kind of stretch out and kind of begin closer to ten weeks prior,” says Behnken, a U.S. Air Force colonel.

He says the coronavirus will change the way the public gets to share the experience with the crew. For space shuttle launches, hundreds of thousands of people usually watch the launch at the Kennedy Space Center and nearby beaches. But the coronavirus outbreak has led NASA and SpaceX leaders to encourage the public to instead watch the liftoff on TV or online.

NASA is limiting the number of guests permitted at the space center, and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is not selling tickets for public viewing on NASA property. The visitor complex closed indefinitely in mid-March.

Behnken says this mission is the first one his son will get to watch him take part in.

“He’s seen me do it in old videos but he hasn’t seen me do it for real,” he says.

Behnken and his wife, K. Megan McArthur, are both astronauts.

“It’s been really interesting, I think for both my wife and I, to have gone through the process of seeing each other launch in space. That’s an aspect of our relationship I think that most couples can’t share,” he says. “Because I’ve seen her take that risk and had it be in front of her and I’ve done that to her.”

The length of the latest mission is unknown.

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