Nasa retiree turned private astronaut Peggy Whitson along with three crewmates — Shubhanshu Shukla, 39, of India, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, 41, of Poland, and Tibor Kapu, 33, of Hungary, departed the International Space Station early on Monday and embarked on their return flight to Earth.

NASA retiree turned private astronaut Peggy Whitson and three crewmates from India, Poland and Hungary departed the International Space Station early on Monday and embarked on their return flight to Earth.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The International Space Station’s first visitors from India, Poland and Hungary headed back to Earth on Monday, wrapping up a private mission and catching a ride home with SpaceX. Their capsule undocked from the orbiting lab and aimed for a splashdown the next morning in the Pacific off the Southern California coast.