Paying passengers have lined up to rocket to space to experience a few minutes of weightlessness.

In this photo released by Roscosmos Space Agency, NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy sits in a chair shortly after landing near town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020. (Roscosmos Space Agency, via AP)MOSCOW – A trio of space travelers safely returned to Earth on Thursday after a six-month mission on the International Space Station. Cassidy will board a NASA plane back to Houston, while Vagner and Ivanishin will fly home to Star City, Russia. Cassidy, Ivanishin and Vagner spent 196 days in orbit, having arrived at the station on April 9. Cassidy, returning from his third space mission, has now spent a total of 378 days in space, the fifth highest among U.S. astronauts.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The first astronauts launched by Elon Musks SpaceX company departed the International Space Station on Saturday night for the final and most important part of their test flight: returning to Earth with a rare splashdown. Space station commander Chris Cassidy rang the ship's bell as Dragon pulled away, 267 miles (430 kilometers) above Johannesburg, South Africa. "It's been a great two months, and we appreciate all you've done as a crew to help us prove out Dragon on its maiden flight, Hurley radioed to the space station. The flag which also flew on the first shuttle flight in 1981 became a prize for the company that launched astronauts first. The next SpaceX crew flight is targeted for the end of September.

On Wednesday, July 29, 2020, SpaceX and NASA cleared the Dragon crew capsule to depart the International Space Station and head home after a two-month flight. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Tropical weather barreling toward Florida could delay this weekends planned return of the first SpaceX crew. On Wednesday, SpaceX and NASA cleared the Dragon crew capsule to depart the International Space Station and head home after a two-month flight. SpaceX is already preparing to launch a second crew to the space station at the end of September. NASA wants six weeks between the splashdown and the launch of the next Dragon crew, for capsule inspections and reviews.

NASA and SpaceX are preparing for the homecoming of Demo-2 Commercial Crew astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. The veteran test pilots launched inside SpaceXs Crew Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket at the Cape on May 30. KPRC 2 Space Reporter Rose-Ann Aragon spoke with the crew, including Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy, from space at the International Space Station. Chris Cassidy: Welcome aboard the International Space Station. If we were having communications with Space Station, in an emergency situation, where we are sealed up in our vehicles and some other work.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The commander of the International Space Station said Monday that losing a mirror during last weeks otherwise successful spacewalk was a real bummer.NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy said he has no idea how the small mirror on his left sleeve came off. The band for the mirror is on pretty tight, he noted, and it may have caught on a metal tether attachment as he exited the airlock Friday. That was a real bummer for me.Hell use a spare for Wednesdays spacewalk, the second of four he and NASA astronaut Bob Behnken will do to replace old station batteries. Spacewalking astronauts wear a mirror on each sleeve to see the displays on their chest control panel. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education.

This photo provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and NASA Flight Engineer Bob Behnken during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Friday, June 26, 2020. Cassidy and Behnken, are conducting the first of at least four spacewalks to replace the last bunch of old station batteries. (NASA via AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A spacewalking astronaut added to the pieces of junk orbiting the Earth on Friday, losing a small mirror as soon as he stepped out of the International Space Station for battery work. Commander Chris Cassidy said the mirror floated away at about a foot per second. Spacewalking astronauts wear a wrist mirror on each sleeve to get better views while working. Cassidy and Bob Behnken, who followed him out without mishap, were conducting the first of at least four spacewalks to replace the last bunch of old station batteries. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education.

SpaceX developed the Crew Dragon, which Hurley and Behnken named, “Endeavour,” that launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 launched Saturday, May 30th at 2:22 p.m. following a scrub on Wednesday. Back at Space Station, docking through the front of Space Station where Shuttle used to dock. We flew directly over the International Space Station just two minutes before launch. “And Chris had a note, ’Don’t forget to take it to Earth with Crew Dragon.”Hurley said that flag represents bringing launches back to American soil.

CORRECTS TO NASDAQ, NOT NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE - In this image from video made available by NASA, astronaut Chris Cassidy, right, rings the opening bell of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange accompanied by fellow astronauts Robert L. Behnken, left, and Doug Hurley in the International Space Station on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The astronauts launched into orbit by SpaceX joined in the ringing of the opening bell for the Nasdaq on Tuesday to mark a pivotal moment" for the space economy. NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken took part in the ceremony from the International Space Station, three days after their launch by Elon Musks company. The two astronauts floated alongside space station commander Chris Cassidy as he rang a ships bell to open trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Their image, along with live-streamed pictures of other NASA staff, lit up the Nasdaq marquee in New York's Times Square.

(NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The first astronauts launched by SpaceX declared victory Monday in NASAs cosmic capture-the-flag game. The flag flew on the first space shuttle flight in 1981 and the final one in 2011. The flag was an added incentive for Elon Musk's SpaceX company and Boeing, competing to be the first private company to launch a crew to the space station. Saturdays liftoff of NASA astronauts was the first from the U.S. in nine years. The crew will include Chris Ferguson, commander of the last shuttle flight who now works for Boeing.