After three days ride around the earth, the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience landed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida at 2306 UTC September 18.
The Inspiration4 mission marks the first time that a spacecraft carried humans into space without any professional astronauts on board. Billionaire and founder of Shift4 Payments, Jared Isaacman was joined by Hayley Arceneaux, a physician's assistant and childhood cancer survivor; Chris Sembroski, a data engineer; and Sian Proctor, a geoscientist and community college professor.
During their flight, the crew traveled up to an altitude of 367 miles (590 km) above the Earth -- higher than both the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope.
"Inspiration4, on behalf of SpaceX, welcome to planet Earth," Kris Young, Space Operations Director at SpaceX mission control, told the crew after their successful splashdown. "Your mission has shown the world that space is for all of us, and that everyday people can make extraordinary impacts in the world around them. Thank you for sharing your leadership, hope, generosity and prosperity — and congratulations."
"Thanks so much, SpaceX. It was a heck of a ride for us," Isaacman replied. "We're just getting started."
At a press conference, Benji Reed, senior director of human spaceflight programs at SpaceX, thanked the crew. "This is an awesome mission, an awesome experience and we are so thankful to the entire crew," he said. "Overall the mission was great -- beautiful weather from start to finish -- and it was really a great experience for everybody on the ground, and Dragon performed very well."
While in orbit, the crew performed a host of medical experiments, collecting samples and data that will help researchers better understand how microgravity affects the human body.
"It's been really interesting to see how fluid shifts with this microgravity environment," Arceneaux told viewers during an in-flight broadcast on Friday (Sept. 17). "And that's something that scientists are looking at, so we're happy to contribute with that."
They crew were also treated to epic views of the planet below. Their spacecraft, Crew Dragon Resilience, received a unique modification after its last spaceflight. Engineers at SpaceX removed the craft's docking adapter and in its place, installed a giant dome window, called a cupola.
"We have been spending so much time in this cupola, and can see the entire perimeter of the Earth, which is such [an] incredible perspective," Arceneaux said during the broadcast. "And I have to say, the views are out of this world."
WATCH the splashdown of Crew Dragon