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A private spaceflight that carried the first astronauts from Poland, Hungary and India in more than 40 years came to an end on Tuesday with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
Their SpaceX capsule undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday and parachuted into the ocean off the southern California coast less than 24 hours later.
The crew of four launched nearly three weeks ago on a flight chartered by the Houston company Axiom Space.
Axiom’s Peggy Whitson, the most experienced US astronaut, served as mission commander.
Joining her were Poland’s Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, Hungary’s Tibor Kapu and India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, whose countries paid more than $65 million (€55 million) apiece for the mission.
“We will spread the word in our countries that these things are within our reach. These things are possible even for smaller countries like ours,” Kapu said during Sunday’s farewell ceremony, which ended in an emotional group hug.
“The sky is no longer the limit. We can explore space,” added Uznański-Wiśniewski.
Whitson’s record now stands at 695 days in space across five missions, surpassing that of any other US citizen or woman.
“Thanks for the great ride and safe trip,” she radioed moments after splashdown.
The visiting astronauts conducted dozens of experiments in orbit while celebrating their heritage.
The last time Poland, Hungary and India put anyone in space was during the late 1970s and 1980s, when they launched with the Soviets.
The crew waved and smiled as they emerged from the capsule, one by one, into the early morning darkness.
It was Axiom’s fourth mission to the orbiting outpost since 2022, part of NASA’s ongoing effort to open up space to more businesses and people.
The company is one of several developing their own space stations to replace the current one.
NASA plans to abandon the outpost in 2030, after more than 30 years of operation.
Additional sources • AP
