TOKYO: Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide returned safely to Earth past noon Tuesday Japan time, completing his six-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying Hoshide, 52, and three other astronauts splashed down off the coast of Florida at around 12:30 p.m. (3:30 a.m. GMT), after separating from the ISS around 4:05 a.m.

After the Crew Dragon was recovered by a vessel, the hatch of the capsule was opened at around 1:15 p.m. The four astronauts appeared to be doing fine, smiling and waving.

Following its separation from the ISS, the Crew Dragon circled around the space station once at a distance of some 200 meters and took full-view pictures of the ISS to check for any abnormalities in appearance.

The photo-taking mission, called “fly around,” had been carried out when space shuttles were used for space flights, but was the first for the Crew Dragon. The US space shuttle program ended in 2011.

The Crew Dragon is a reusable, capsule-type spacecraft developed by U.S. space business Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX.

The capsule that carried Hoshide and his crew marked its second return to Earth as it was used in last year’s test flight as well.

When Hoshide arrived at the ISS in April, he was greeted by fellow Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, 56. It was the first time for two Japanese astronauts on long-term missions to stay on the ISS at the same time.

During his mission, Hoshide served as ISS commander, becoming the second Japanese to hold the post after Koichi Wakata, who took the helm at the space station in 2014.

Hoshide carried out his fourth spacewalk, bringing his total spacewalking time to 28 hours and 17 minutes, rewriting the record for a Japanese astronaut previously held by Noguchi.

The latest mission was Hoshide’s third trip to space.

JIJI Press