NASA’s Crew-8 mission members returned to Earth Friday — capping a nearly eight-month mission after their trip from the International Space Station was extended several times.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying the four-member crew splashed down off the coast of Pensacola, Fla. just before 3:30 a.m. ET after a fiery nighttime return across southern Mexico.
Over about an hour, the capsule pierced the atmosphere with an orbital velocity of 17,500 mph and eventually eased to a leisurely 16 mph under a canopy of parachutes as it landed in the Gulf of Mexico. The capsule undocked from the I.S.S. Wednesday afternoon…