Science News Roundup: SpaceX capsule returns crew of four from space station mission; Spain's race to space about to blast off with reusable rocket launch

The SpaceX capsule, dubbed Endurance, parachuted into waters off the coast of Tampa just after 9 p.m. EST (0200 GMT) carrying two NASA astronauts, a Japanese astronaut and one Russian cosmonaut after a roughly nine-hour flight from the orbital research lab, a NASA-SpaceX webcast showed. Spain's race to space about to blast off with reusable rocket launch Two Spanish engineers hope to put their country at the forefront of the space transport industry with the launch of what could be the first private reusable rocket from Western Europe later this year.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

SpaceX capsule returns crew of four from space station mission

Four crew members aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule splashed down off Florida's Gulf coast on Saturday, returning safely from a five-month science mission on the International Space Station. The SpaceX capsule, dubbed Endurance, parachuted into waters off the coast of Tampa just after 9 p.m. EST (0200 GMT) carrying two NASA astronauts, a Japanese astronaut and one Russian cosmonaut after a roughly nine-hour flight from the orbital research lab, a NASA-SpaceX webcast showed.

Spain's race to space about to blast off with reusable rocket launch

Two Spanish engineers hope to put their country at the forefront of the space transport industry with the launch of what could be the first private reusable rocket from Western Europe later this year. Raul Torres and Raul Verdu, who work for Spanish launch company PLD Space, have named their suborbital microlauncher "Miura 1" after a renowned breed of bull in Spain's bullfighting tradition.

(With inputs from agencies.)