It seemed like the ultimate scene of a film, the denouement of an extended journey wherein the nice guys lastly prevail. Azure skies and sensible blue seas offered an ideal backdrop on Tuesday night as a spacecraft carrying 4 folks neared the planet’s floor.

“Simply breathtaking views of a relaxed, glass-like ocean off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida,” commented Sandra Jones, a NASA spokesperson, throughout the webcast co-hosted by the house company and SpaceX, whose Dragon car returned the 4 astronauts from orbit.

A drone close to the touchdown website captured unbelievable photos of Crew Dragon Freedom because it slowly descended beneath 4 parachutes. Most of NASA’s astronauts immediately, exterior of the small group of spaceflight devotees, are comparatively nameless. However not two of the passengers inside Freedom, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. After 9 months of travails, 286 days to be exact, they had been lastly coming dwelling.

Dragon continued its stately descent, falling to 400 meters, then 300, after which 200 above the ocean.

Kate Tice, an engineer from SpaceX on the webcast, famous that landing was imminent. “We’ll stand by for splashdown positioned within the Gulf of America,” she mentioned.

Ah, sure. The Gulf of America.

For this reason we will not have good issues.

A throne of lies

For these of us who’ve intently adopted the story of Wilmore and Williams over the past 9 months—and Ars Technica has had its share of exclusive stories about this lengthy and unusual saga—the ultimate weeks earlier than the touchdown have seen it take a disturbing flip.