A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts has departed the International Space Station and is aiming for a rare nighttime splashdown.

SpaceX will attempt the first U.S. splashdown of returning astronauts in darkness since the Apollo 8 moonshot in 1968.

NASA and SpaceX are promising more Coast Guard patrols and fewer pleasure boaters for this weekend's splashdown by four astronauts.

An American astronaut and two Russians have returned to Earth after six months aboard the International Space Station.

In this photo provided by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Progress MS-16 cargo blasts off from the launch pad at Russia's space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. The Russian Progress MS-16 cargo ship blasted off from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan and reached a designated orbit en route to the International Space Station. (Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service photo via AP)MOSCOW – An unmanned Russian cargo ship docked at the International Space Station Wednesday with a load of supplies. The Progress MS-16 cargo ship, which blasted off Monday from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan, has delivered water, propellant and other supplies to the orbiting outpost. The space station is now operated by NASA’s Kate Rubins, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi; and Russian Space Agency Roscosmos’ Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.

In this photo provided by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Progress MS-16 cargo blasts off from the launch pad at Russia's space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. The Russian Progress MS-16 cargo ship blasted off from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan and reached a designated orbit en route to the International Space Station. (Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service photo via AP)MOSCOW – An unmanned Russian cargo ship launched successfully Monday with a load of supplies for the International Space Station. The Progress MS-16 cargo ship blasted off as scheduled at 9:45 a.m. (0445 GMT) from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan and reached a designated orbit en route to the station. The space outpost is now operated by NASA's Kate Rubins, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi; and Russian Space Agency Roscosmos' Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov.

SpaceX delivered its second crew of astronauts to the International Space Station late Monday night, just 27 hours after their launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. In their first press conference from orbit, the four astronauts described Sunday night's launch and their first impressions of the space station, their new home until spring. It's the first time the space station has had seven long-term crew members all at once, which is expected to boost scientific output. There's energy up here,” said NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, who arrived on a Russian Soyuz capsule a month ago. NASA turned to SpaceX and Boeing to transport astronauts to the space station from the U.S. following the 2011 retirement of the shuttle fleet, reducing America's costly reliance on Russian rockets.

In this frame grab from NASA TV, the SpaceX Dragon is seen after docking at the International Space Station, late Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. (NASA TV via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX’s newly launched capsule with four astronauts arrived Monday at the International Space Station, their new home until spring. The Dragon capsule pulled up and docked late Monday night, following a 27-hour, completely automated flight from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. “Oh, what a good voice to hear,” space station astronaut Kate Rubins called out when the Dragon's commander, Mike Hopkins, first made radio contact. And so it will go, with SpaceX — and eventually Boeing — transporting astronauts to and from the station for NASA.

The three Americans and one Japanese should reach the International Space Station late Monday for a five- to six-month stay, following Sunday's liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. A brief look at each:—Crew commander Mike Hopkins, 51, is an Air Force colonel and former space station resident who grew up on a hog and cattle farm in Missouri. He played football for the University of Illinois and, before becoming an astronaut in 2009, worked at the Pentagon. —Shannon Walker, 55, a Houston-born-and-raised physicist, also has lived before on the space station. She worked as a flight controller at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and then behind the scenes in the space station program, before becoming an astronaut in 2004.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on Sunday on the first full-fledged taxi flight for NASA by a private company. It is due to reach the space station late Monday and remain there until spring. NASA policy at Kennedy Space Center requires anyone testing positive for coronavirus to quarantine and remain isolated. Even the two astronauts on the first SpaceX crew flight stayed behind at Johnson Space Center in Houston. NASA turned to private companies to haul cargo and crew to the space station, after the shuttle fleet retired in 2011.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Four astronauts arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Sunday for SpaceX’s second crew launch, coming up next weekend. There will be double the number of astronauts as the test flight earlier this year, and their mission will last a full six months. “Make no mistake: Every flight is a test flight when it comes to space travel. It will be a speedy trip to the space station, a six-orbit express lasting under nine hours. “Every time there’s a Dragon launch, there will be two Dragons in space,” said Reed, director of crew mission management.

For NASA, it marks the long-awaited start of regular crew rotations at the International Space Station, with private companies providing the lifts. It will be a speedy trip to the space station, a six-orbit express lasting under nine hours. “Every time there’s a Dragon launch, there will be two Dragons in space,” said Reed, director of crew mission management. NASA turned to private companies for space station deliveries — cargo, then crew — following the shuttle fleet's retirement in 2011. They will join two Russians and one American who arrived at the space station last month from Kazakhstan.

In this June 18, 2020 photo provided by NASA, astronaut Kate Rubins, center, and support personnel review the Universal Waste Management System, a low-gravity space toilet, in Houston. The new device is scheduled to be delivered to the International Space Station on Oct. 1, 2020. Barely 100 pounds (45 kilograms) and just 28 inches (71 centimeters) tall, the new toilet is roughly half as big as the two Russian-built ones at the space station. To better accommodate women, NASA tilted the seat on the new toilet and made it taller. The last time NASA ordered up a new toilet was in the early 1990s to accommodate two-week space shuttle missions.