ORLANDO, Fla. — Another four humans are back on Earth after spending more than five months in space with the SpaceX Crew-5 mission that departed the International Space Station in the wee hours of Saturday before a 19-hour trip home to splash down off the coast of Florida.
“That was one heck of a ride. We’re happy to be home. Looking forward to the next one,” said commander and NASA astronaut Nicole Mann as Crew Dragon Endurance landed in the Gulf of Mexico near Tampa.
Spotlights from the recovery vessels flashed over the descending capsule lighting it up in the night sky as it made its soft water landing at 16 mph after slowing down from its orbital velocity of 17,500 mph just one hour earlier.
