Photos: SpaceX's historic mission
SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, splashes down into the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, August 2.
Bill Ingalls/NASA

In pictures: SpaceX's historic mission

Updated 2243 GMT (0643 HKT) May 30, 2020

SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, splashes down into the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, August 2.
Bill Ingalls/NASA

SpaceX launched two NASA astronauts toward the International Space Station on May 30.

It marked the first time in history that a commercial aerospace company carried humans into Earth's orbit.

NASA and space fans waited nearly a decade for this milestone. The United States hadn't launched its own astronauts into space since the shuttle program ended in 2011.

The astronauts successfully returned to Earth on Sunday, August 2.