NASA Astronauts Aboard SpaceX’s Mission Land In Gulf Of Mexico

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft landed in the Gulf of Mexico, Sunday, capping off the historic two-month mission. The craft carried NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley.

Handout / Getty Images

NASA chief Jim Bridenstine praised SpaceX for the mission saying, “The reason we had success today is because SpaceX is so good at adapting and the NASA team is so good at sharing what the engineering challenges are … It has been an absolutely amazing partnership.”

Behnken and Hurley’s journey marks the first American space expedition since the final Space Shuttle flight in 2011. The astronauts boarded the International Space Station on May 31.

A number of famous politicians congratulated everyone involved in their mission.

“Welcome home, @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug!” former U.S. President Barack Obama wrote on Twitter. “We launched the Commercial Crew program to strengthen our U.S. space program and it’s been great to see its success. This historic NASA-SpaceX mission is a symbol of what American ingenuity and inventiveness can achieve.”

“It was an honor to witness history as @NASA and @SpaceX launched American astronauts on an American rocket from American soil to the @Space_Station in May,” Vice President Mike Pence tweeted. “Today, we welcome home @AstroBehnken & @Astro_Doug! On behalf of a grateful Nation, thank you!”

[Via]