NASA astronauts aim for Florida coast to end SpaceX flight

first astronauts launched by Elon Musk's X company departed International Station on Saturday night for final and most important part of ir test flight: returning to Earth with a rare splashdown. NASA's Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken bid farewell to three men left behind as ir X Dragon capsule undocked and heed toward a Sunday afteron descent by parachute into Gulf of Mexico.

Despite Tropical Storm Isaias' surge toward Florida's Atlantic shore, NASA said wear looked favourable off coast of Pensacola on extreme opposite side of state. It will be first splashdown for astronauts in 45 years. last time was following joint U.S.-Soviet mission in 1975 kwn as Apollo-Soyuz.

station commander Chris Cassidy rang ship's bell as Dragon pulled away, 267 miles (430 kilometres) above Johannesburg, South Africa. Within a few minutes, all that could be seen of capsule was a pair of flashing lights against black void of .

"It's been a great two months, and we appreciate all you've done as a crew to help us prove out Dragon on its maiden flight,” Hurley rioed to station.

“Safe travels," Cassidy replied, “and have a successful landing." astronauts' homecoming will cap a mission that ended a prolonged launch drought in U.S., which has relied on Russian rockets to ferry astronauts to station since end of shuttle era.

In launching Hurley and Behnken from NASA's Kennedy Center on May 30, X became first private company to send people into orbit. w X is on verge of becoming first company to bring people back from orbit. “ hardest part was getting us launched, but most important is bringing us home,” Behnken said several hours before strapping into Dragon.

A successful splashdown, Behnken said, will bring U.S.-crew launching capability “full circle.” At a farewell ceremony earlier in day, Cassidy, who will remain on board with two Russians until October, presented Hurley with small U.S. flag left behind by previous astronauts to launch to station from U.S. soil. Hurley was pilot of that final shuttle mission in July 2011.

flag — which also flew on first shuttle flight in 1981 — became a prize for company that launched astronauts first. X easily beat Boeing, which isn't expected to launch its first crew until next year and will land in U.S. Southwest. flag has one more flight after this one: to moon on NASA's Artemis program in next few years.

“We're a little s to see m go," Cassidy said, “but very excited for what it means to our international program to d this capability” of commercial crew capsules. next X crew flight is targeted for end of September. Hurley and Behnken also are bringing back a sparkly blue and purple disaur named Tremor. ir young sons chose toy to accompany ir fars on historic mission.

(Im credits; Twitter/@Commercial_Crew)