- 38 dead as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan
- Crisis-hit Valencia hire West Brom's Corberan as new boss
- Suriname ex-dictator and fugitive Desi Bouterse dead at 79
- 35 feared dead as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan
- Pope calls for 'arms to be silenced' in Christmas appeal
- Syria authorities say torched 1 million captagon pills
- Pope calls for 'arms to be silenced' across world
- 32 survivors as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan
- Pakistan air strikes kill 46 in Afghanistan, Kabul says
- Liverpool host Foxes, Arsenal prepare for life without Saka
- Japan FM raises 'serious concerns' over China military buildup
- Pope's sombre message in Christmas under shadow of war
- Zelensky condemns Russian 'inhumane' Christmas attack on energy grid
- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Pope kicks off Christmas under shadow of war
- Catholics hold muted Christmas mass in Indonesia's Sharia stronghold
- Japan's top diplomat in China to address 'challenges'
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- As India's Bollywood shifts, stars and snappers click
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Djokovic eyes more Slam glory as Swiatek returns under doping cloud
- Australia's in-form Head confirmed fit for Boxing Day Test
- Brazilian midfielder Oscar returns to Sao Paulo
- 'Wemby' and 'Ant-Man' to make NBA Christmas debuts
- US agency focused on foreign disinformation shuts down
- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launches holy Jubilee year
- 'Like a dream': AFP photographer's return to Syria
- Chiefs seek top seed in holiday test for playoff-bound NFL teams
- Panamanians protest 'public enemy' Trump's canal threat
- Cyclone death toll in Mayotte rises to 39
- Ecuador vice president says Noboa seeking her 'banishment'
- Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy aware of 'bigger picture' as Liverpool await
- Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- Man Utd boss Amorim vows to stay on course despite Rashford row
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
Four astronauts splash down after Axiom private mission
An all-European quartet of astronauts, including Turkey's first, splashed down off the Florida coast on Friday morning, completing Axiom Space's third private mission to the International Space Station.
The Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) was the company's first launch where all three paid seats were bought by national agencies rather than wealthy individuals.
A live stream showed a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule named "Freedom" float down on parachutes to the Atlantic Ocean, where it was intercepted and brought aboard a recovery boat.
"I am very proud of my Ax-3 crewmates who helped their agencies achieve all of their science objectives, technology demonstrations and outreach events," Axiom's Chief Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, a Spanish and US citizen and former NASA astronaut said in a farewell ceremony before the crew headed back to Earth.
The mission was initially meant to last two weeks, but the return journey was delayed by several days owing to bad weather, resulting in an 18 day stay on the ISS.
Lopez-Alegria was joined by Turkish pilot and air force colonel Alper Gezeravci, Walter Villadei, an Italian air force colonel who had previously flown to the edge of space on a Virgin Galactic space plane, and Marcus Wandt from Sweden, who was also representing the European Space Agency.
Nations with smaller space programs are increasingly turning to the private sector to fulfill their space ambitions, with Turkey in particular hailing the mission as a sign of its growing stature on the world stage.
The crew carried out 30 experiments, learning more about the impact of microgravity on the human body, advancing industrial processes and more.
Axiom Space was founded in 2016 by Michael Suffredini, a former ISS program manager for NASA, and entrepreneur Kam Ghaffarian.
In addition to organizing private missions to the orbital outpost, the company is developing spacesuits for future NASA missions to the Moon.
It is also building a commercial space station that it intends to initially attach to the ISS, then separate and orbit independently sometime before the ISS is retired.
The exact costs of the Ax-3 have not been disclosed, but in 2018 when the company first announced the program, which involves chartering SpaceX hardware and paying NASA for services, it set a price tag of $55 million per seat.
More recently, Hungary was reported by spacenews.com to be planning a $100 million deal with Axiom for a future mission involving one astronaut.
Britain, which is striving to build a post-Brexit space strategy, has also signed an agreement for a future mission carrying UK astronauts.
A.Mahlangu--AMWN