`` This has been a fantastic day , '' SpaceX founder says . It also marks the culmination of six years of preparation to bring commercial flights to the space station after the retirement of NASA 's space shuttle fleet in 2011 , which left the United States with no means of independently sending humans into space . The return caps the first commercial flight to the International Space Station . NASA / Reuters It splashed down at 11:42 a.m . ET , controllers say .
`` This has been a fantastic day , '' SpaceX founder says . The return caps the first commercial flight to the International Space Station . NASA / Reuters It splashed down at 11:42 a.m . ET , controllers say .