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Video footage from NASA shows the astronauts separating from the ISS
Photo: HANDOUT/AFP
Three Americans and one Italian have returned to Earth from the International Space Station.
Images from the US space agency Nasa showed how the spacecraft Dragon, owned by the private company SpaceX, landed in the Atlantic off the coast of Florida.
A few hours earlier, they had undocked from the ISS 400 kilometers above the earth's surface.
On board were NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines and astronaut Jessica Watkins, as well as Samantha Cristoforetti from the European Space Agency ESA.
Crew 4 replaced Crew 3 on the ISS at the end of April.
"Crew-5" had arrived at the space station late last week.
The Russian cosmonaut Sergei Prokopjew has now taken over command on board from Cristoforetti - she was the first European ISS commander.
After the crew radioed the landing, one of the astronauts added, "SpaceX, from the Freedom, thank you for the incredible flight to orbit and the incredible flight home.
I'm glad to be back«.
czl/dpa
