<p>The two US astronauts who reached the International Space Station (ISS) on board the first crewed US spacecraft in nearly a decade will leave for Earth on August 1, NASA's chief said Friday.</p>.<p>"Splashdown is targeted for Aug. 2. Weather will drive the actual date. Stay tuned," tweeted the US space agency's administrator Jim Bridenstine.</p>.<p>Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley took off from Florida aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule on May 30, becoming the first astronauts to hitch a ride to the ISS on board a commercial spaceship, which is under contract with NASA.</p>.<p>It was the first time a crewed spaceship was launched from the United States since 2011 when the space shuttle program was ended.</p>.<p>Between then and this mission, American astronauts travelled exclusively on Russian rockets.</p>.<p>Eventually, Dragon will regularly bring four astronauts to the ISS at a time, from NASA and partner space agencies in Canada, Japan, Europe and potentially Russia.</p>.<p>This will be the first time the SpaceX capsule will make the journey to Earth with astronauts, having successfully completed an uncrewed test run last year.</p>.<p>It will splash down in the Atlantic, like the Apollo capsules did in the 1960s and 1970s.</p>
<p>The two US astronauts who reached the International Space Station (ISS) on board the first crewed US spacecraft in nearly a decade will leave for Earth on August 1, NASA's chief said Friday.</p>.<p>"Splashdown is targeted for Aug. 2. Weather will drive the actual date. Stay tuned," tweeted the US space agency's administrator Jim Bridenstine.</p>.<p>Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley took off from Florida aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule on May 30, becoming the first astronauts to hitch a ride to the ISS on board a commercial spaceship, which is under contract with NASA.</p>.<p>It was the first time a crewed spaceship was launched from the United States since 2011 when the space shuttle program was ended.</p>.<p>Between then and this mission, American astronauts travelled exclusively on Russian rockets.</p>.<p>Eventually, Dragon will regularly bring four astronauts to the ISS at a time, from NASA and partner space agencies in Canada, Japan, Europe and potentially Russia.</p>.<p>This will be the first time the SpaceX capsule will make the journey to Earth with astronauts, having successfully completed an uncrewed test run last year.</p>.<p>It will splash down in the Atlantic, like the Apollo capsules did in the 1960s and 1970s.</p>