Private spaceflight ends with a Pacific splashdown for astronauts.
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 commander. Joining her were India's Shubhanshu Shukla, Poland's Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, and Hungary's Tibor Kapu, whose countries paid more than $65 million apiece for the mission. The visiting astronauts conducted dozens of experiments in orbit while celebrating their heritage. The last time India, Poland, and Hungary put anyone in space was during the late 1970s and 1980s, launching with the Soviets.
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.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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