KARK

Hot Springs family shares experience of seeing SpaceX Dragon capsule fly over their house

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Dragons are not real and don’t breathe fire, right? Yes and no, a fire-breathing dragon capsule was really seen Tuesday night.

The SpaceX Dragon Freedom Capsule returning to Earth is what many Arkansans heard and saw streaking across the Arkansas sky.

After an eight-day research mission on the international space station, the capsule landed off the Florida coast just after 10 p.m.

Many from across the state captured video of the capsule flying through the sky, including one family who witnessed it in Hot Springs.

The Parker family says they are able to laugh about it now when as it is happening as they were wondering “What the heck is that?”

Stacy Parker was recording as the SpaceX Dragon capsule flew over her home. Her daughters Addley and Jaxley both can be heard repeatedly asking Stacy “Is it going to kill us?”

“I thought it was a meteor, plane or a nuke,” fourth-grader Addley said. Her little sister Jaxley said she thought the same thing.

Minutes later they heard a sonic boom. The Parkers say it was only about 5 minutes after seeing the capsule go over their house from when they heard the boom.

“I was like whatever that was, it definitely hit something,” Stacy said.

Parents usually have the answers, but in this case, 4 astronauts returning to Earth never crossed Stacy Parker’s mind to tell her daughters.

“There was a lot of stuff going through my mind while trying to keep them calm,” Stacy Parker said.

Finding out what the light in the sky brought relief.

“I thought we were all going to die,” Addley joked.

Stacy said this moment led her to think about if that actually was the case. To experience this moment makes the Parkers glad the SpaceX Dragon capsule came through the Natural State

“It was really cool to know that we got to watch the astronauts come back to Earth,” Stacy Parker said.

SpaceX said this was the company’s fastest trip on record for a crewed flight.