DRAGON LANDS
TWO American astronauts have splashed back down to Earth following the first commercial crewed mission to the International Space Station.
Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken - who headed from space back to despite the threat of - arrived home at 2.48pm ET on Sunday.
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Their spacecraft went from 17,500mph in orbit to 350mph during re-entry, and finally to 15mph as it parachuted into the water.
It was exposed to a peak temperature of 1,900C (3,500F) during the descent.
The splashdown took place in the Gulf of Mexico and was the first ocean landing in 45 years.
As the astronauts made their return, four parachutes were deployed.
Footage was shared to Twitter page of their "recovery teams approaching the @SpaceX Dragon capsule and gathering the parachutes in the water."
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At 4pm ET, both astronauts successfully left the hatch as a recovery team assisted them.
Both Behnken and Hurley gave a thumbs up.
"Welcome back to planet Earth and thanks for flying SpaceX," said controllers at SpaceX headquarters.
"It was truly our honor and privilege," replied Hurley.
After medical checks by a crew who had been in strict quarantine, they were flown by helicopter to Pensacola, then on to Houston.
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"This has been quite an odyssey," Hurley said at a homecoming ceremony at Johnson Space Center.
"To be where we are now, the first crewed flight of Dragon, is just unbelievable."
He added: "It's a little bit overwhelming to see everybody here considering the things that have gone on the last few months since we've been off planet."
About six minutes after splash, shared a celebratory tweet.
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He : "Great to have NASA Astronauts return to Earth after very successful two-month mission. Thank you to all!"
Vice President Mike Pence also expressed his excitement to , writing: "Welcome home, @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug!
"Congratulations on a successful and historic mission to the @Space_Station.
"Thanks to your service, the United States has ushered in a new era of human space exploration!"
Billionaire SpaceX boss Elon Musk rushed to Houston from the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, California to welcome the astronauts.
It was the first time a private company has flown to the ISS carrying astronauts.
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"This day heralds a new age of space exploration," Musk said. "I'm not very religious, but I prayed for this one."
Musk also tweeted: 'Congratulations SpaceX & NASA on completing first crewed Dragon flight!!'
He later said of the mission: "I think my entire adrenaline just dumped.
"These are difficult times, there's not that much good news... No matter where you are on planet Earth, this is a good thing. And I hope it brightens your day."
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Nasa recovery teams checked to see there were no poisonous fumes around the capsule before lifting it out of the water and onto the GoNavigator.
The capsule, dubbed the Endeavour, undocked from the (ISS) on Saturday.
The ISS confirmed on Twitter Saturday that the Endeavour undocked at 7.35pm ET "to complete a ."
"Two very small engine burns separated @SpaceX Endeavour from the station," the account .
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"The spacecraft is slowly maneuvering away from the orbital laboratory into an orbital track that will return @AstroBehnken & @Astro_Doug
safely to Earth for splashdown on Sunday. "
The two men began their journey when they took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station on May 30.
Earlier on Saturday, announced that weather conditions were a "go" for them to undock and to splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.
, which has allowed the US astronauts to help out with spacewalks and experiments.
US astronauts from SpaceX's new Crew Dragon hold a press conference after splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico
The splashdown was the first water landing by NASA since 1975, when crews were still using the Apollo rockets from the American moon missions.
The return clears the way for another SpaceX crew launch as early as next month and possible tourist flights next year.
The high-profile "splashdown" was gatecrashed by recreational boaters who breached security in the waters.
“That was not what we were anticipating,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said at a press conference addressing the private boaters who greeted the craft with spacemen Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley aboard.
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Several boats with multiple passengers, including one flying a Trump campaign flag, could be seen on a livestream that captured the historic voyage surrounding the floating capsule after it safely touched down.
Bridenstine noted that the US Coast Guard cleared a landing for the craft and it wasn’t until after splashing down that the spectators crept close.
“We wanted to make sure that there was a clearing for them to land. The Coast Guard did an excellent job of ensuring that,” said Bridenstine.
“Then of course, after they landed the boats just came in. We need to do a better job next time for sure,” he said.
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