SpaceX capsule returns to Earth with world’s first all-civilian orbital crew
- The citizen astronauts from the Inspiration4 mission splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday night, completing three-day flight
- On its way back, the Resilience capsule plunged through Earth’s atmosphere, the friction sending temperatures outside soaring to 1,927 degrees Celsius
The successful launch and return of the mission, the latest in a recent string of rocket-powered expeditions bankrolled by their billionaire passengers, marked another milestone in the fledgling industry of commercial astro-tourism, 60 years after the dawn of human space flight.
“Welcome to the second space age,” Todd “Leif” Ericson, mission director for the Inspiration4 venture, told reporters on a conference call after the crew returned.
SpaceX, the private rocketry company founded by Tesla Inc electric carmaker CEO Elon Musk, supplied the spacecraft, launched it, controlled its flight and handled the splashdown recovery operation.
The three-day mission ended as the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, dubbed Resilience, parachuted into calm seas around 7pm, shortly before sunset, following an automated re-entry descent, as shown during a live SpaceX webcast on its YouTube channel.