SpaceX capsule splashes down in Gulf of Mexico

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Did you hear a loud boom Tuesday night? It’s believed that loud noise was caused by a SpaceX capsule returning to Earth.

A private flight carrying two Saudi Arabia citizens and other passengers returned May 30 after a historic nine-day trip to the International Space Station.

The SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico, about 12 hours after undocking from the orbiting lab. The crew took off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida May 21.

The Saudi government covered the multimillion-dollar tab for its two citizens. A Knoxville, TN businessman, John Shoffner, who made his fortune in the international telecom business, paid his own way to the space station. The paying customers were joined by retired Nasa astronaut Peggy Whitson, who now works for the Houston company that chartered the flight, Axiom Space. Whitson also became the first woman to command a private spaceflight.

Video submitted by David Skipper in Clarke County, shows what the capsule looked like as it flashed across the night sky in Alabama, right before landing.

The AX-2 mission is in partnership with Axiom Space. The company’s goal is to make these missions routine, offering more opportunities for people who are not professional astronauts, to experience space.

Check out the pictures and videos Gulf Coast residents captured of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule as it passed over northwest Florida before splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico south of Panama City.

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