Four ISS astronauts splash down in SpaceX craft off Florida after six-month mission
- Nasa said the crew reported they were feeling well after their arrival back on Earth
- It was the first nighttime splashdown for the US space agency since the crew of Apollo 8 arrived in the Pacific Ocean in 1968
A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts back to Earth splashed down off Florida early on Sunday, a Nasa live-stream showed.
The crew reported they were feeling well after their arrival back on Earth following a nearly six-month mission aboard the International Space Station, Nasa said.
03:42
SpaceX capsule brings ISS crew safely home in Nasa’s first nighttime splashdown since 1968
The capsule splashed down at 2.56am (local time) in the dark in the Gulf of Mexico off Panama City after a six-and-a-half hour flight from the ISS, night-vision images relayed by Nasa’s WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft showed.
Teams aboard the Go Navigator recovery ship retrieved the capsule and hoisted it on to the deck about half an hour later. It was the first nighttime splashdown for Nasa since the crew of Apollo 8 arrived in the Pacific Ocean on December 27, 1968.
Commander Michael Hopkins was the first to emerge after the hatch was opened, doing a little jig as he set foot on deck, followed soon after by fellow Nasa astronaut Victor Glover.