SpaceX's first all-civilian crew returned to Earth after three days in space, splashing down off the Florida coast to bring the historic mission to a close.

After orbiting the earth over 50 times since Sept. 15, the crew of the historic Inspiration4 mission splashed down off the coast of Florida on Sept. 18. The astronauts successfully left the spacecraft roughly an hour after splashdown following a retrieval at sea

"It's been an amazing ride for everyone," Inspiration4 mission director Kip O'Keefe said in a post-splashdown news conference. "We couldn't ask for a more successful mission."

At 7:06 p.m. EDT on Sept. 18, the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience landed gently in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, bringing the Inspiration4 mission, a private spaceflight that launched four civilians into orbit, to an end.

It was the first time a crew made up entirely of private citizens was launched into orbit without the presence of any professional astronauts.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital was the beneficiary of the flight, which was part of a large fundraising effort. The flight was purchased from SpaceX by Jared Isaacman, a billionaire and founder of Shift4 Payments, in order to raise $200 million for childhood cancer research.

Hayley Arceneaux, a physician's assistant and childhood cancer survivor, Chris Sembroski, a data engineer, and Sian Proctor, a geoscientist and community college professor, are also on board with Isaacman.

The four citizens make up the Inspiration4 crew , and their mission is the first time a spacecraft has carried humans into space without the presence of professional astronauts.

They've also had spectacular views of the planet below. After their last spaceflight, their spacecraft, Crew Dragon Resilience, received a special modification. The craft's docking adapter was removed and replaced with a giant dome window known as a cupola by SpaceX engineers.

According to SpaceX, the crew reached an altitude of 367 miles (590 kilometers) above the Earth during their trip, which is higher than the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope. That should give us a better understanding of space radiation and its effects on humans.

Another civilian flight is planned for early next year by SpaceX. That mission is a collaboration with Axiom Space, which will transport a crew of four private people to the International Space Station, including one former NASA astronaut.