After nine months stuck on the International Space Station (ISS), NASA's Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams finally made it back home last night. The duo splashed down off the coast of Florida aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, having arrived at the ISS way back in June. While Wilmore and Williams will be relieved to be back on solid ground, their return has ignited a slew of conspiracy theories - with many sceptics critical of the splashdown in particular. Upon arrival, the capsule was circled by an inquisitive pod of dolphins, which many social media commentators are describing as'fake' and computer-generated. Others have taken it even further, suggesting the entire mission footage from departure to landing was created by a sophisticated AI tool.

SpaceX is the undisputed rock star of the Space Coast's commercial launch boom. Their social media plays a role. Video posted Feb. 19, 2017 Rachael L Thomas, FLORIDA TODAY Space exploration is serious business. Missions cost tens of millions of dollars and frequently put human lives on the line. That's probably why rockets and spacecraft tend to have serious-sounding names.

Last Thursday, a shiny new SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sat perched atop NASA's historic Pad 39A, at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, waiting to briefly fire its engines. The exercise was part of a routine pre-launch test. What wasn't routine was the presence of a Crew Dragon capsule atop the slick black-and-white Falcon. The domed capsule, which can accommodate up to seven passengers, represents the next big step in SpaceX's evolution and in NASA's dependency on a commercial space industry. The test simulated all of the events of an actual launch, though with the rocket secured to the pad.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have a treat to look forward to after successfully taking delivery of their Christmas dinner. The three-strong team will be treated to smoked turkey, a green bean casserole, candied yams, cranberry sauce and fruitcake. The delivery was sent via Elon Musk's SpaceX Dragon capsule and was received by Commander Alexander Gerst. Musk's astro-firm SpaceX worked with NASA to ship the delivery, which also included shortbread and biscuits with tubes of icing for decoration. In addition to the food the Dragon delivered 40 mice and 36,000 worms for a science experiment and more than 5,000 pounds of other station equipment.

The International Space Station will get its first AI bot by next week, after it was bundled into a Dragon capsule and launched into space aboard Space X's Falcon Rocket on Friday. On the screen flashes a simple cartoon face known as CIMON (Crew Interactive MObile CompanioN), pronounced as Simon. CIMON was developed by Airbus and IBM. The AI bit, presumably, comes from some sort of programmed neural network that uses some of the tools from IBM's Watson platform. "In short, CIMON will be the first AI-based mission and flight assistance system," said Manfred Jaumann, Head of Microgravity Payloads at Airbus.

The first stage booster that launched NASA's TESS spacecraft is being reused for CRS-15. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- With the rocket's static fire successfully concluded, SpaceX appears to be on track for an early-morning launch of the company's 15th operational mission to resupply the International Space Station--CRS-15. The weather forecast currently calls for a 90 percent of favorable conditions for the instantaneous window, which opens at 5:41 a.m. EDT (09:41 GMT) on June 29, 2018, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) in Florida. The mission, designated Commercial Resupply Services 15 (CRS-15), is expected to deliver more than 5,900 pounds (2,676 kilograms) of supplies, hardware, and research equipment to the orbiting outpost. Among its manifest, SpaceX's Dragon capsule is set to deliver an estimated 661 pounds (300 kilograms) under the auspices of the ISS' U.S. National Laboratory flight allotment.

A SpaceX capsule carrying food, experiments and other goods for NASA has arrived at the International Space Station after a two-day journey. The Dragon capsule and its 6,000-pound shipment was captured by the space station's robot arm Wednesday. It's the second trip to the 250-mile-high orbiting outpost for this capsule, refurbished following a visit two years ago. It will remain attached to the space station for about a month, returning to Earth in May. A SpaceX capsule carrying food, experiments and other goods for NASA has arrived at the International Space Station after a two-day journey.

As if SpaceX's long-awaited launch of the Falcon Heavy megarocket last month wasn't historic enough, now Elon Musk's aerospace firm is set to hit another major milestone. On Tuesday, a recycled Falcon 9 rocket will blast off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the launch window opening at 12:33pm (EST). If all goes according to plan, it will be the 50th time a Falcon 9 rocket blasts off from Earth since its maiden voyage in June 2010. A Falcon 9 recycled rocket will launch for the 50th time on Tuesday. As part of the launch, SpaceX will attempt to land the rocket's first stage on its autonomous drone ship The rocket will deliver Hispasat 30W-6, a Spanish commercial communications satellite, to a geostationary transfer orbit, which is a halfway point en route to the satellite's final destination.

The SpaceX Dragon capsule that made history by becoming the first recycled spacecraft to fly two missions was recovered on Tuesday. The capsule took supplies to the International Space Station and splashed down as planned in the Pacific Ocean on Monday. SpaceX announced on Twitter that the Dragon hit the water off the California coast shortly after 5am Monday. After being released by the space station's robotic arm, the capsule completed a 5½-hour journey back to Earth, part of which was captured by NASA astronaut Jack Fischer. NASA astronaut Jack Fischer photographed the SpaceX Dragon capsule as it reentered Earth's atmosphere before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California at 8:12 a.m. EDT, July 3, 2017.

A SpaceX Dragon capsule that brought supplies to the International Space Station has splashed down as planned in the Pacific Ocean. SpaceX announced on Twitter that the Dragon hit the water off the California coast shortly after 5 a.m. After being released by the space station's robotic arm, the capsule completed a 5½-hour journey back to Earth, part of which was captured by NASA astronaut Jack Fischer. NASA astronaut Jack Fischer photographed the SpaceX Dragon capsule as it reentered Earth's atmosphere before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California at 8:12 a.m. EDT, July 3, 2017. He photographed the SpaceX Dragon capsule as it reentered Earth's atmosphere before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California.