Jonathan Siri

The Navy has dispatched the USS John P. Murtha to a splashdown site off the coast of San Diego to recover the astronauts when their Orion space capsule returns.

At nearly 24,000 miles per hour, the capsule must strike Earth's atmosphere at just the right angle.

to slow to a parachute-assisted splashdown at less than 20 miles per hour.

As the four astronauts return to Earth's gravitational bonds, they say the mission has also strengthened the ties among the crew.

And forecasters say the weather at the primary splashdown site looks really good for tomorrow.