NASA: SpaceX Capsule Returns to Earth Carrying 4 Astronauts from the International Space Station

A team of four astronauts embarked on their journey back to Earth on Saturday from the International Space Station aboard the American "SpaceX Crew Dragon" capsule. The hatch of the spacecraft carrying the four astronauts was closed on Saturday evening. It is scheduled to land in the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday morning. The return flight was delayed by one day due to bad weather. The American astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi completed a six-month mission aboard the orbital laboratory. The launch of the four astronauts from American soil last November ended nine years of reliance on Russia for transporting astronauts to space. NASA hopes that this launch marks the beginning of many regular crewed spaceflights to the space station from American territory.