#Welcome home, Crew Dragon

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley splashed safely down near Pensacola, Fla., on Sunday.
AP

The Crew Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley splashed safely down near Pensacola, Fla., on Sunday (take that, Tropical Storm Isaisis) in a history-making journey that could help usher in a new era in US space exploration.

It was the first US manned mission ever in an orbit-capable craft built by a private company, Elon Musk’s SpaceX — and the first American launch of humans into orbit in nearly a decade.

It was also the first NASA water landing since 1975, when NASA astronauts Tom Stafford, Vance Brand and Deke Slayton wrapped up the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, splashing down in the Pacific.

The Crew Dragon, which launched atop a re-usable SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, took 64 days, from start to finish, including a stay at the International Space Station.

“It’s hard to put into words just what it was like to be a part of this expedition,” gushed Hurley after his return. “It’ll be kind of a memory that will last a lifetime.”

The SpaceX flight was part of a NASA initiative to hand off some of its work to private enterprise. And it’s truly good news that it went so well; many see the efforts — and new technology — as a launching pad to reinvigorate the American space program. Here’s hoping.

Meanwhile, welcome home, guys.