SpaceX brings four astronauts home with midnight splashdown

The SpaceX Dragon space capsule is lifted out of the water after splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico (Nasa via AP)

SpaceX has brought four astronauts home with a midnight splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, capping the busiest month yet for Elon Musk’s space taxi service.

The three US astronauts and one German transported back to Earth in the capsule were bobbing off the Florida coast, near Tampa, less than 24 hours after leaving the International Space Station.