Space tourists come back to Earth after three days in orbit
Al Jazeera
The Elon Musk-developed spacecraft splashed down in calm seas off Florida on Saturday evening.
Four space tourists on board the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission safely splashed down off Florida’s coast on Saturday, completing the first ever three-day mission in Earth’s orbit with no professional astronauts on board.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule’s heat shield allowed it to withstand the descent, before it was slowed down by four large parachutes and then splashed into the ocean just after 7pm (23:00 GMT), according to a live video feed from the company.
The return from orbit followed a plunge through Earth’s atmosphere generating frictional heat that sent temperatures surrounding the outside of the capsule soaring to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,927 degrees Celsius). The group’s flight suits, fitted to special ventilation systems, were designed to keep them cool if the cabin heated up.
