‘We are so excited to be back’: SpaceX’s recovery ship brought back four astronauts to Earth after an eight-month mission

Four astronauts returned to Earth from the International Space Station on Thursday after hurrying there eight months ago to replace an ailing colleague and his crew. SpaceX brought the U.S., French and Russian flyers back with a splashdown in the Pacific off the coast of Los Angeles. NASA’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrey Fedyaev departed the orbiting lab on Wednesday, eager to reunite with their families after a lengthy…