Featured Image Credit: SEN
Topics: Space X, Space, International Space Station, Science
Joe Yates
A SpaceX capsule has been captured on video plummeting toward Earth following an 18-day stint in orbit.
It is thanks to Sen and its 4k camera system on board the International Space Station (ISS) that we've been gifted with the opportunity to witness such stunning visuals involving America's most experienced astronaut.
Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who now works under Axiom Space, was joined inside SpaceX's Dragon One capsule by Polish astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, Indian test pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, and Hungarian engineer Tibor Kapu.
They undocked from the ISS in the early hours of yesterday morning (July 14), with the American biochemistry researcher having now spent a staggering 695 days, six hours and 48 minutes in space - more than any other astronaut outside of Russia.
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Their re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere was captured by Sen, spotted off the coast of California at 2.20am Pacific Time.
A glorious blue light could be seen as the shuttle tore through the night sky, with the astronauts arriving home safely.
"After 18 days in space, Dragon and the Ax-4 astronauts Peggy Whitson, Shubhandshu Shukla, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Tibor Kapu returned to Earth and splashed down off the coast of California at 2:31 a.m. PT on Tuesday, July 15," SpaceX wrote on its website.
It noted on Twitter that the astronauts were set to splash down off the coast of San Diego, while also highlighting that it isn't the first time Californians have experienced a SpaceX homecoming.
"This is Dragon’s second human spaceflight mission to splash down off the coast of California after Fram2 returned Dragon recovery operations to the West Coast this past April," it tweeted.
All four astronauts appeared healthy as they emerged from the hatch in good spirits.
It was Axiom's fourth 'private astronaut mission' to the ISS, with the firm charging as much as $70 million per head to carry researchers, astronauts who aren't affiliated with NASA, and others into orbit who wouldn't have any other way to exit Earth's atmosphere.
Their return was documented through Sen, a first-of-its-kind livestream from space, which is free to watch and available worldwide.
Founded in 2014 by Charles Black, it is a video streaming app which is dedicated to 'democratizing' space through the medium of video.
The company hopes to inform and educate humanity by offering an unbiased view of the Earth - one that we can see for ourselves, rather than having to learn about through politicians or those rich enough to actually travel into space.