Private Flight with 2 Saudi Astronauts Returns to Earth

After a nine-day trip to the International Space Station (ISS), a private flight carrying two Saudi astronauts and other passengers made a late-night descent back to Earth on Tuesday.

After 12 hours of undocking from the orbiting lab, the SpaceX capsule carrying the four parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico, right off the Florida panhandle.

For its two astronauts, fighter pilot Ali al-Qarni and stem cell researcher Rayyanah Barnawi, who became the first Saudi women in space, the Saudi government paid a multimillion dollar bill.

The passengers were joined by veteran NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who now works for Axiom Space, the Houston-based firm that chartered the mission.

They rocketed into orbit last week on Axiom’s second chartered flight to the space station. The company plans to send up more clients by year’s end.