CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The first astronauts launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company have left the International Space Station for the final and most important part of their test flight: returning to Earth with a rare splashdown.
NASA’s Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken bid farewell to the three men left behind as their SpaceX Dragon capsule undocked Saturday night.
The capsule is headed toward a Sunday afternoon descent into the Gulf of Mexico near Pensacola, on the opposite side of Florida from approaching Tropical Storm Isaias. It will be the first splashdown for astronauts in 45 years — and the first return of a crew by SpaceX.
