SpaceX capsule splashes down, bringing 4 astronauts home from 6-month mission – Reuters

SpaceX capsule splashes down, bringing 4 astronauts home from 6-month mission – Reuters

May 6 (Reuters) - The third long-duration astronaut team launched by SpaceX to the International Space Station (ISS) safely returned to Earth early on Friday, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida to end months of orbital research ranging from space-grown chilies to robots.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule dubbed Endurance, carrying three U.S. NASA astronauts and a European Space Agency (ESA) crewmate from Germany, parachuted into calm seas in darkness at the conclusion of a 23-hour-plus autonomous flight home from the ISS.

Thermal-camera video of the splashdown, at about 12:45 a.m. EDT (0445 GMT), was carried live by a joint NASA-SpaceX webcast.