SpaceX capsule splashes down, returning 4 astronauts from Space Station

WASHINGTON: The fourth long-duration astronaut team launched by SpaceX to the International Space Station (ISS) safely returned to Earth on Friday, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida after nearly six months of research aboard the orbital outpost.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule dubbed Freedom, carrying three US Nasa astronauts and an Italian crewmate from the European Space Agency, parachuted into the sea at the conclusion of a five-hour autonomous flight home from the ISS.

Splashdown under clear skies, at about 4:55 p.m. EDT (2055 GMT), was carried live by a joint Nasa-SpaceX webcast.

Freedom began its stay in orbit on April 27. The crew consisted of Nasa astronaut Kjell Lindgren, 49, fellow Americans Jessica Watkins, 34, and Bob Hines, 47, as well as Italy’s Samantha Cristoforetti, 45, who was commander of their ISS expedition. Watkins became the first African-American woman to join a long-duration ISS mission.