Since Crew Dragon’s debut, SpaceX has flown more astronauts than anyone
Enlarge / Crew Dragon splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday afternoon. (credit: NASA)
After 170 days in space, four astronauts splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, bringing an end to a successful NASA-SpaceX mission to the International Space Station.
Following two days of weather delays, SpaceX's Crew Dragon Freedom returned to Earth off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, beneath clear blue skies and into mild seas. The spacecraft's descent through Earth's atmosphere appeared to be nominal, with two drogue parachutes deploying on schedule, followed by four clean main parachutes, allowing Dragon to splash down at about 25 km per hour.
"SpaceX, from Freedom, thank you for an incredible ride up to orbit and an incredible ride home," Kjell Lindgren, the NASA commander of the spacecraft, said after landing.