Launch and rendezvous went flawlessly, "so we expect nothing different for the splashdown", he said.

The mission marked the first time NASA launched humans from USA soil since its shuttle program retired in 2011.

Crew Dragon Capsule C201 being recovered after splashdown following Demo-1.

The homecoming of Douglas and Robert after more than two months at the ISS will mark the first return of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft carrying astronauts from the space station. And it's been great to be a crew member with Chris and Bob.

Years prior, NASA agreed to stop purchasing enough seats on the Russian Soyuz at the end of 2019 that Soyuz crew missions to Station would reduce from four to two per year - with those eliminated two flights being flown instead by the Commercial Crew vehicles of Dragon and Starliner. Yet, the mission has been dubbed Demo-2 because SpaceX had earlier carried out an uncrewed test flight, which had been dubbed Demo-1. "But the most important part is bringing us home", Behnken said at the ceremony.

A successful splashdown, Behnken said, will bring USA -crew launching capability "full circle".

The plan could be adjusted, before or after the docking, if the weather forecast changes.

Doug Hurley, Watch: Bob and Doug are coming home!

At 5:45 pm EDT (21:45 UTC), the two will wave goodbye to Cassidy, Anatoli Ivanishin, and Ivan Vagner before closing the hatches that separate Endeavour and the Station.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft is certified for around 114 days in space. As of Friday, the astronauts' departure was still expected to go on as scheduled, but a final decision on whether to proceed may not be made until late Saturday morning.

The crewmates added they were looking forward to going home after two months, if the return trip went ahead Sunday as planned. If the Crew Dragon is authorized to depart tonight, it is expected to arrive at its landing at 2:42 pm ET on Sunday. The first landing opportunity will aim for only the primary site.

But NASA is following the progression of Isaias, a category one hurricane, which was heading for Florida on Saturday after pummeling the Bahamas with heavy rain.

A NASA spokesman said Friday that officials are now targeting to land the capsule near Panama City, one of four potential Gulf splash sites that were shortlisted by NASA and SpaceX.

The game plan calls for the Dragon to be hoisted aboard the main recovery ship with a crane, and then for Behnken and Hurley to be extracted from the capsule for the return to shore. There, the crew will emerge from the capsule and receive all necessary medical test and checkouts.

Astronauts will board SpaceX's spacecraft Crew Dragon.

Behnken has an extra reason to bring this Dragon back in good shape.

Their trip in SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft - named Endeavour - was technically a demonstration flight, showing off the capabilities of the ship as NASA advances private partnerships to revive US space travel.