A pair of astronauts stranded in space for more than nine months were finally headed home Tuesday after their capsule undocked from the International Space Station.
The SpaceX craft carrying Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams detached from the orbital outpost at 1.05am (1.05pm Hong Kong time), ending their prolonged mission that has captivated global attention.
The Nasa duo were joined on board by American Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.
The crew were settling in for the 17-hour journey back to Earth, and were given permission to change from their spacesuits into more comfortable clothes.
If all goes smoothly, the capsule will deploy its parachutes off the coast of Florida for an ocean splashdown around 5.57am Hong Kong Wednesday, when a recovery vessel will retrieve the crew.
