First splashdown in 45 years: SpaceX guides NASA astronauts' safe return

For SpaceX, the flight is a signature achievement 18 years after Musk founded the company with the ultimate goal of populating other planets

NASA claimed a triumphant return to US space travel as SpaceX’s Dragon vehicle plopped into the Gulf of Mexico with two astronauts, successfully concluding the company’s first crewed test flight to the International Space Station.

The spacecraft splashed down at about 2:48 p.m. Eastern time Sunday near Pensacola, Florida. A SpaceX vessel was to hoist the capsule carrying Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley onto its deck less than one hour after their arrival. The astronauts said they felt fine after landing.

Their flight marked the first time US astronauts have flown to the orbiting lab aboard an American spacecraft since