An international crew of four astronauts is back on Earth after a long-duration stay on the International Space Station.
The big picture: Sunday’s splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico marks the end of SpaceX’s first fully operational crewed mission to the space station.
What’s happening: NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi splashed down about 3a.m. ET after undocking from the space station Saturday evening.
- The return of this crew leaves a crew of seven people on the space station now, four flown up by another SpaceX mission and three that flew to space aboard Russia’s Soyuz.
What’s next: The Crew Dragon capsule — named Resilience — will now be turned around so it can be used for SpaceX’s next crewed flight, the Inspiration 4 mission to orbit expected to launch in September.
- As part of its refurbishment, SpaceX is planning to install a large window in place of the spacecraft’s docking adaptor to give the all-civilian crew an unmatched view of space while in orbit.
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Editor’s note: This article has been updated with images from the splashdown.