The first private flight to the International Space Station returned to Earth on Monday.
The SpaceX capsule, which carried a private flight of four astronauts and an escort, undocked from the International Space Station on Sunday and splashed down off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, at 1:06 p.m.
The crew, which left Earth on April 8, was in flight for 17 days. The crew was scheduled to spend eight days on the ISS, but poor weather in Florida delayed their landing by a week.
TWITTER EXPECTED TO FINALIZE DEAL WITH MUSK ON MONDAY
Splashdown of Dragon confirmed pic.twitter.com/m0C7GjwhYh
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 25, 2022
The capsule docked on April 9, a day after it launched, though it was delayed due to a glitch by 45 minutes, according to the private space agency Axiom Space.
The crew comprised Larry Connor of the Connor Group, Mark Pathy, founder of the Canadian Mavrik Corp., and Eytan Stibbe, a former Israeli fighter pilot and founding partner of Vital Capital. Former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria joined the trio on the trip.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The three private astronauts paid $55 million each for their rides and accommodations. While private astronauts have traveled to the ISS in the past, most private flights were orchestrated by the Russian government.
Axiom has a contract with SpaceX to conduct three more missions into space over the next two years, the company said.
