SpaceX ferries astronauts back to Earth after half-year away


              In this photo provided by NASA, the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom capsule approaches the surface of the Atlantic Ocean off Florida for splashdown in a return trip from the International Space Station on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, carrying astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
            
              NASA astronaut Robert Hines is helped out of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan after he, NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, landed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti are returning after 170 days in space as part of Expeditions 67 and 68 aboard the International Space Station. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
            
              NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren is helped out of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan after he, NASA astronaut Robert Hines, NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, landed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti are returning after 170 days in space as part of Expeditions 67 and 68 aboard the International Space Station. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
            
              European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti is helped out of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan after she, and NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, landed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti are returning after 170 days in space as part of Expeditions 67 and 68 aboard the International Space Station. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
            
              NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins is helped out of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan after she, NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, NASA astronaut Robert Hines, and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, landed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti are returning after 170 days in space as part of Expeditions 67 and 68 aboard the International Space Station. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
            
              In this image provided by NASA, NASA astronauts, from left, Jessica Watkins, Robert Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, right, sit inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Megan shortly after having landed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla., Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti are returning after 170 days in space as part of Expeditions 67 and 68 aboard the International Space Station. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
            
              In this photo provided by NASA, the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom capsule approaches the surface of the Atlantic Ocean off Florida for splashdown in a return trip from the International Space Station on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, carrying astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
            
              In this photo provided by NASA, the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom capsule splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida in a return trip from the International Space Station on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
SpaceX ferries astronauts back to Earth after half-year away