Two American astronauts have splashed down, as the first commercial crewed mission to the International Space Station returned to Earth. The SpaceX Dragon Capsule carrying Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken came down in the Gulf of Mexico just south of Pensacola on Florida’s Gulf coast, writes BBC.

A recovery vessel moved in to pick up the vehicle and extricate the men. The touchdown marks the first crewed US water landing since the final outing of an Apollo command module 45 years ago.

Private boats which came close to the Dragon were asked to leave amid concern over hazardous chemicals venting from the capsule’s propulsion system.

President Donald Trump - who attended the capsule"s launch on 30 May - hailed its safe return.

“Thank you to all! Great to have NASA Astronauts return to Earth after very successful two month mission”, - he tweeted.