The Crew-1 mission astronauts arrived back on Earth early Sunday morning.

Four astronauts returned to Earth early Sunday splashing down in darkness off Florida’s Gulf Coast following a 6-month stay 200 miles above the planet.

SpaceX has delivered four astronauts back to Earth, making the first U.S. crew splashdown in darkness since the Apollo 8 moonshot.

A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts has departed the International Space Station and is aiming for a rare nighttime splashdown.

SpaceX will attempt the first U.S. splashdown of returning astronauts in darkness since the Apollo 8 moonshot in 1968.

The astronauts are set to undock from the ISS Wednesday and splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico.

NASA and SpaceX are promising more Coast Guard patrols and fewer pleasure boaters for this weekend's splashdown by four astronauts.

An American astronaut and two Russians have returned to Earth after six months aboard the International Space Station.

In this photo provided by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Progress MS-16 cargo blasts off from the launch pad at Russia's space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. The Russian Progress MS-16 cargo ship blasted off from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan and reached a designated orbit en route to the International Space Station. (Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service photo via AP)MOSCOW – An unmanned Russian cargo ship docked at the International Space Station Wednesday with a load of supplies. The Progress MS-16 cargo ship, which blasted off Monday from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan, has delivered water, propellant and other supplies to the orbiting outpost. The space station is now operated by NASA’s Kate Rubins, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi; and Russian Space Agency Roscosmos’ Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.

In this photo provided by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Progress MS-16 cargo blasts off from the launch pad at Russia's space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. The Russian Progress MS-16 cargo ship blasted off from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan and reached a designated orbit en route to the International Space Station. (Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service photo via AP)MOSCOW – An unmanned Russian cargo ship launched successfully Monday with a load of supplies for the International Space Station. The Progress MS-16 cargo ship blasted off as scheduled at 9:45 a.m. (0445 GMT) from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan and reached a designated orbit en route to the station. The space outpost is now operated by NASA’s Kate Rubins, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi; and Russian Space Agency Roscosmos’ Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.

Four astronauts who recently arrived on the Space Station via the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft smiled ear-to-ear describing their journey into space Thursday, meanwhile the rocket booster used for the launch is set to return to Port Canaveral later in the day. NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, along with Japanese Space Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi launched Sunday night on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the Dragon spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center. After 27 hours in space the astronauts arrived to the space station where NASA astronaut Kate Rubins was waiting to greet them at docking. The American and Japanese astronaut crew answered some questions on Thursday about the new arrivals on ISS. The booster will be used again next year to launch another round of astronauts for NASA to the International Space Station.

SpaceX delivered its second crew of astronauts to the International Space Station late Monday night, just 27 hours after their launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. In their first press conference from orbit, the four astronauts described Sunday night's launch and their first impressions of the space station, their new home until spring. It's the first time the space station has had seven long-term crew members all at once, which is expected to boost scientific output. There's energy up here,” said NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, who arrived on a Russian Soyuz capsule a month ago. NASA turned to SpaceX and Boeing to transport astronauts to the space station from the U.S. following the 2011 retirement of the shuttle fleet, reducing America's costly reliance on Russian rockets.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX’s newly launched capsule with four astronauts arrived Monday at the International Space Station, their new home until spring. The Dragon capsule pulled up and docked late Monday night, following a 27-hour, completely automated flight from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. “Oh, what a good voice to hear,” space station astronaut Kate Rubins called out when the Dragon's commander, Mike Hopkins, first made radio contact. But it’s the first time Elon Musk’s company delivered a crew for a full half-year station stay. As they prepared for the space station linkup, the Dragon crew beamed down live window views of New Zealand and a brilliant blue, cloud-streaked Pacific 250 miles below.

MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. – ***11:16 p.m. Nov. 16, 2020 Update***SpaceX’s newly launched capsule with four astronauts has arrived at the International Space Station. The Dragon capsule pulled up and docked late Monday night, following a 27-hour, completely automated flight from Florida. ***Original***After a good night’s sleep for four astronauts -- three NASA and one JAXA --aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon in orbit, the crew will prepare to dock at the International Space Station late Monday. NASA and SpaceX have continued to stream live views from the space station and the Crew Dragon. The first return to human spaceflight from Kennedy Space Center happened in May with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley.

The three Americans and one Japanese should reach the International Space Station late Monday for a five- to six-month stay, following Sunday's liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. A brief look at each:—Crew commander Mike Hopkins, 51, is an Air Force colonel and former space station resident who grew up on a hog and cattle farm in Missouri. He played football for the University of Illinois and, before becoming an astronaut in 2009, worked at the Pentagon. —Shannon Walker, 55, a Houston-born-and-raised physicist, also has lived before on the space station. She worked as a flight controller at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and then behind the scenes in the space station program, before becoming an astronaut in 2004.

The Dragon spacecraft nicknamed Resilience will arrive at the International Space Station about 27 hours after launch, around 11 p.m. Monday. The Dragon spacecraft launch escape system is armed. 4:58 p.m. Space fans ready to watch Falcon 9 launchPeople in Titusville at Space View park came out to watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch with four astronauts from Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 15, 2020. SpaceX suit technicians known as SpaceX ninjas, wearing all black, helped the astronauts get into the Crew Dragon spacecraft and into their seats. “We are fully booked tomorrow, too.”She said without the Crew-1 launch and the earlier SpaceX launch in May, her B&B might not have survived.

It is due to reach the space station late Monday and remain there until spring. Even the two astronauts on the first SpaceX crew flight stayed behind at Johnson Space Center in Houston. “I didn’t start breathing until about a minute after it took off,” Pence said during a stop at SpaceX Launch Control to congratulate the workers. The first-stage booster is expected to be recycled by SpaceX for the next crew launch. NASA turned to private companies to haul cargo and crew to the space station, after the shuttle fleet retired in 2011.

The first astronaut launch from American soil happened earlier this summer despite the afternoon storms Florida is known for -- including a tornado warning -- and this time around as SpaceX prepares to launch its second-ever group of astronauts to the space station, launch teams are up against Tropical Storm Eta. [ MORE COVERAGE : Dragon riders: Meet the next astronauts to launch from Florida with SpaceX | SpaceX launches astronauts into orbit, returning human spaceflight to Florida]SpaceX launches astronauts for NASA and its international partners, under the commercial crew program, using its Falcon 9 rocket and the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The astronaut crew have named this space vehicle Resilience, fitting for the trying times amid a global pandemic. pic.twitter.com/CduCZrsJPr — Troy Bridges (@TroyNews6) November 9, 2020Brevard County, home to KSC, remains in the cone of uncertainty for Tropical Storm Eta, which is near the Florida Keys Monday and forecast to continue meandering in the eastern Gulf of Mexico through Friday. When the four astronauts do launch, they will travel to the International Space Station and spend up to six months living and working in space.

Four astronauts headed to Kennedy Space Center on Sunday for SpaceX’s second crew launch, coming up next weekend. It will be a speedy trip to the space station, a six-orbit express lasting under nine hours. The four are scheduled to be SpaceXs second crew launch in mid-November 2020. The four will remain in orbit until spring when their replacements arrive aboard another SpaceX Dragon capsule. They will join two Russians and one American who arrived at the space station last month from Kazakhstan.

For NASA, it marks the long-awaited start of regular crew rotations at the International Space Station, with private companies providing the lifts. It will be a speedy trip to the space station, a six-orbit express lasting under nine hours. “Every time there’s a Dragon launch, there will be two Dragons in space,” said Reed, director of crew mission management. NASA turned to private companies for space station deliveries — cargo, then crew — following the shuttle fleet's retirement in 2011. They will join two Russians and one American who arrived at the space station last month from Kazakhstan.

The second-ever crewed launch of the private spacecraft will mark the first operation mission to the International Space Station for Dragon. NASA Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken launched on the first Dragon test flight with astronauts to the space station in May and successfully splashed down in August, becoming the first Dragon riders and NASA astronauts to launch from American soil since 2011. Meet the international crew set to become the second round of Dragon riders below:Mike Hopkins, Dragon commanderIn October 2013, aboard International Space Station Expedition 37 Flight Engineer Michael Hopkins prepares the Fluids Integrated Rack for an experiment. “I think you, if you want to be a leader in space, we need to be able to launch our own astronauts into space,” Hopkins said. Victor Glover, Dragon pilotNASA Astronaut Victor Glover during EVA training in 2014.

NASA announced on Saturday that the launch of it’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station has been delayed until mid-November. The crew of Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi were supposed to launch from Cape Canaveral on Oct. 31, but the launch was delayed to allow for additional hardware testing and data reviews, NASA announced. The crew will work on science missions and conduct spacewalks for six months once it arrives at the International Space Station.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA’s first new space potty in decades — a $23 million titanium toilet better suited for women — is getting a not-so-dry run at the International Space Station before eventually flying to the moon. Barely 100 pounds (45 kilograms) and just 28 inches (71 centimeters) tall, the new toilet is roughly half as big as the two Russian-built ones at the space station. With SpaceX now launching astronauts to the space station and Boeing less than a year from sending up its first crew, more toilets are needed. To better accommodate women, NASA tilted the seat on the new toilet and made it taller. The last time NASA ordered up a new toilet was in the early 1990s to accommodate two-week space shuttle missions.

In this June 18, 2020 photo provided by NASA, astronaut Kate Rubins, center, and support personnel review the Universal Waste Management System, a low-gravity space toilet, in Houston. The new device is scheduled to be delivered to the International Space Station on Oct. 1, 2020. Barely 100 pounds (45 kilograms) and just 28 inches (71 centimeters) tall, the new toilet is roughly half as big as the two Russian-built ones at the space station. To better accommodate women, NASA tilted the seat on the new toilet and made it taller. The last time NASA ordered up a new toilet was in the early 1990s to accommodate two-week space shuttle missions.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – The next astronauts to launch from Kennedy Space Center will begin their journey into space on the SpaceX Dragon capsule named Resilience. NASA said American astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi will catch a ride to the International Space Station aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket. They have been training to fly in the SpaceX Dragon spaceship together at the company’s headquarters in California. On Tuesday, Hopkins revealed the astronauts have named their spacecraft Resilience. The first Crew Dragon to launch humans was named Endeavour by its passengers, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – NASA has added two astronauts to the crew manifest of SpaceX's first operational mission to the International Space Station, a flight slated to launch only after the company demonstrates the capsule's ability to safely take crews to orbit. NASA astronaut Shannon Walker, a former 163-day resident of the ISS in 2010, will fly with previously selected astronauts Mike Hopkins and Victor Glover on Crew Dragon’s first operational flight, according to News 6 news partner Florida Today. But to clear the way for the four-person crew to fly, SpaceX must first demonstrate Crew Dragon's safety with Demo-2, its test mission with astronauts. The company in 2019 launched the capsule on an automated test flight to the ISS, which saw a successful launch, docking, departure, and splashdown off the Florida coast. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Dough Hurley will fly on that test mission to the ISS, tentatively slated for mid-to-late May.